


Limerence

by LilacChocolate



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Human! Plagg - Freeform, Human! Tikki - Freeform, Kissing, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 04:47:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17135222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacChocolate/pseuds/LilacChocolate
Summary: Marinette and her parents move from the Cour des Miracles to Élysée Palace to serve the King and his son after the death of the Queen, only for her fall in love with Adrien, the crown prince of France. Will his status jeopardise their relationship, or will he give everything up for her?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MLadyCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MLadyCat/gifts).



> 베카야!  
> 저는 이 피자를 좋아해요 ♨(⋆‿⋆)♨  
> 고맙습니다.  
> 리랔.

Marinette looked around with wide eyes as Élysée Palace came into view. The cart they were travelling in juddered against the cobbled road, but she paid it no heed. The palace was so magnificent; she couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. White stone, black iron gates, and golden gilding surrounding each and every window. She had lived in Paris her whole life, yet she had never come to the Champs-Élysées. She and her family were poor: they had no reason to ever stroll around in the eighth arrondissement. But now they would be living here all the time.

Marinette tore her eyes away from the palace to smile at her parents who were sat in the cart with her, their luggage piled up between them. She was so proud of them. They had owned a small bakery on the outskirts of Cour des Miracles, and by some stroke of luck, King Gabriel had happened upon her father’s wonderful pastries on an obligatory visit to the slums and he had hired them on the spot. Now, Marinette’s parents were going to be the King’s royal bakers, and they would all live in the palace.

She knew they would be living in the servant’s quarters; it wasn’t going to be as grand as pretty as the rest of the interior of the palace surely was, but she still couldn’t contain her excitement. King Gabriel had also hired her as a maid for his ward, Lady Chloé, so although her parents would spend most of their time in the basement, in the palace kitchens, Marinette would be above ground, serving in the palace apartments, and she was ecstatic.

Sabine chuckled when she saw the big grin stretched across her daughter’s face. ‘Are you really that excited?’

Marinette nodded. She loved the royal family. The one day a year when King Gabriel and Queen Emilie visited the Cour des Miracles was the best day in her opinion. She had been absolutely heartbroken, along with the rest of France, when Queen Emilie had died suddenly last year. She hadn’t been able to believe it. She had been such a wonderful lady. Marinette had always dreamed of her walking into their bakery. And even though they were going to be living in the palace now, Marinette would never get to serve Queen Emilie. It had always been her dream to do that; it still was, even though she was now seventeen. But hopefully she could take pleasure in serving Lady Chloé in replace of her.

‘Don’t forget you won’t be sharing a room with us,’ her father said and Marinette practically bounced on her wooden seat with joy. Their bakery had been small and they all had to live in one room together. They were being provided with two rooms in the servant’s quarters. Sabine and Tom would be sharing one, and Marinette would be in the other, sharing with another maid called Alya. It wouldn’t be her own room, but she was certain it would be more spacious than their bakery in the Cour des Miracles. And she would get to sleep in an actual bed! It was going to be amazing.

The cart continued its journey, passing by the front of the palace and going round to the back. The horse pulling the cart stopped at a small courtyard that was fenced off, but there were a few people stood around, all of them wearing palace uniforms. They were a mixture of maids, footmen, cooks, and guards stood around, all on their break, but one of the footmen stood up when he saw the cart. He was dressed in a smart black uniform and he had bright red hair. He smiled as he opened the gate into the courtyard.

‘Are you the Dupain-Chengs?’ he asked.

‘We are,’ Tom said as he clambered out of the cart.

‘I’m Nathaniel,’ the footman said.

‘I’m Tom, and this is my wife, Sabine,’ the baker said as he helped his wife out of the cart. ‘And this is my daughter, Marinette.’

Marinette smiled at the boy and his cheeks coloured up pink.

‘D-do you need some help getting out?’ he asked, holding out his hand, his eyes not quite meetings hers.

‘No, it’s okay.’ Marinette jumped down from the cart. She leant back into the cart and grabbed her small suitcase, and her parents did the same. They didn’t have very many belongings, but they had earned a little money from the sale of their tiny bakery, and they could hopefully earn even more working for the King. Marinette loved making clothes when she could afford to buy the material and could find a sewing machine to use. She would definitely be saving up for a sewing machine of her own whilst she worked here.

‘Err… if you w-want to follow me,’ Nathaniel stammered as he led the family of three through the courtyard and into the servant’s entrance. They descended some stairs, and at the bottom, it opened up into a dining room for the servants. It was basic, just a large wooden table with wooden chairs surrounding it, but it was well lit with candles despite being in the basement of the palace. It was nice.

‘The kitchen is that way.’ Nathaniel pointed to an open doorway where they could hear pans clanking together and faint chatter. ‘The stairs to the palace are through there, too. And this way is all of the bedrooms.’

They followed Nathaniel down a corridor leading off from the dining room. It was lined with doors, all with little golden ornaments attached to identify each of them. ‘Tom and Sabine, you’ll be in the room with the candelabra on, and M-Marinette, you’ll be in the room with the golden rose on the door.’

The family smiled at him in thanks, then they shuffled down the corridor together. The door with the golden candelabra was five doors down, but the door with the golden rose on it was right at the end of the corridor.

‘Will you be okay all the way down there?’ Sabine asked, biting her bottom lip.

‘I’ll be fine, Mama,’ Marinette said with a smile. ‘There’s only ten rooms between us.’

Tom wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders. ‘Mari’s seventeen. She’ll be fine.’

‘Thanks, Papa.’ She kissed both of her parents on the cheek, then went into her room.

As predicted, there were two beds inside. They were pushed up against the far wall, each with a bedside cabinet next to it. There was also a chest of drawers pushed up against the wall opposite the beds. It had a few trinkets on it, along with a vase of dried lavender. The bed nearest the door was obviously taken, going off the wrinkled sheets and the nightgown lying on the pillow, so Marinette went over to the other bed. She put her suitcase on the floor, then sat down on the bed, bouncing up and down a few times to see how comfy it was. Oh, and it was. It was probably the comfiest thing she had ever sat on. She led back with a sigh and shut her eyes, but her reverie didn’t last long.

‘You enjoying yourself down there?’

Marinette sat up with a shriek and the girl who was stood by her bed shrieked as well, dropping the clothes she was holding.

‘I’m so sorry!’ Marinette said, quickly retrieving the clothes from the floor and handing them to the girl. She must have been so relaxed on the bed that she didn’t hear her come in. But the girl looked friendly. She had long brown hair and a pair of glasses were perched on her nose. She was wearing a long black dress with a white apron tied around her waist, and a small white cap was on her head: she was a palace maid.

‘It’s fine, girl. Don’t worry about it. It’s actually your uniform.’

Marinette looked at the clothes in her hands, realising they were the same as what the other girl was wearing. ‘Oh. Thank you for bringing them to me.’

‘It’s no problem. I’m Alya, by the way. I’ll be sharing this room with you. I see you found the correct bed?’

Marinette smiled. ‘Yes. Thank you for letting me share with you.’

Alya grinned and sat on her own bed. ‘Don’t worry about it. It makes sense really. My mum’s the head chef here, so she’ll be working with your parents, and we’re both maids for Lady Chloé. This room has just been me on my own for so long. It’ll be nice to have some company.’

‘Is Lady Chloé nice?’ Marinette asked, hoping she would be as kind as she imagined Queen Emilie had been.

But Alya shook her head. ‘She’s incredibly cruel and horrible. And believe me, I would normally say something to people like her, but she’s the King’s ward. I’d get fired if I said anything.’ She sighed, then continued, ‘anyway, get changed. I need to show you around the palace. Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done.’

Alya stood up from the bed and left the room, then Marinette got changed into her uniform. It was a little too big on her, so she tied the apron a little tighter, hoping it made the dress look a little less baggy on her body. When she saved up for her sewing machine, she could take in the seams properly.

Once she had placed the cap on her head, Marinette left the room and went into the kitchen. It was a lot quieter in here now, one of the maids cleaning up as Alya spoke to them.

‘Oh, there you are,’ Alya said with a smile. ‘Marinette, this is Mylène.’

The other maid glanced up at Marinette and offered her a shy smile before returning to her work.

‘She’s a little quiet, but she’s friendly once you get to know her,’ Alya whispered, then she grabbed Marinette’s wrist. ‘Anyway, let’s go to the palace!’

Marinette giggled as she let Alya drag her up the set of stairs in the kitchen. They were made of marble, much grander than the simple stone steps that had led from outside and down into the servant’s quarters. But when they reached the top of the stairs, that’s when Marinette became really impressed, and she let out a quiet gasp.

‘It’s magnificent…’ she whispered. All of the walls were white, gold painted on the borders of each panel, and on the parts that weren’t covered in portraits or tapestries; there were mirrors or windows. They both illuminated every room they went in to, making them seem larger and brighter. The inside of the palace was more beautiful than she could ever have imagined.

She dawdled beside Alya as the other girl showed her around, pointing out the throne room, the dining hall, the ballroom, the entrance to the gardens, the library, but Marinette was paying only the smallest amount of attention. She was so taken with the beauty of the palace that she could barely concentrate.

They ascended another set of marble stairs and the hallway went both left and right. ‘You won’t ever need to go to the right,’ Alya said. ‘Everything that way is King Gabriel’s quarters. Come on.’

The two girls went to the left, and once they had gone through a set of double doors, the hallway branched off again. ‘To the left is the prince’s quarters. You won’t need to go there either. Lady Chloé’s chambers are this way.’

Marinette followed Alya, and after walking through another set of double doors, they came to a sitting room of sorts. It had several chaise lounges in it, along with a tea trolley.

‘This is Lady Chloé’s receiving room, and those three doors lead to her bathroom, the middle one is her bedroom, and then the one on the right is her closet,’ Alya said, pointing to each one as she did.

Marinette nodded as she stepped into the receiving room a little further. It was like the rest of the palace: white walls, high ceilings, and golden gilding. It was just as magnificent as everywhere else she’d seen in here so far.

‘Alya!’ a voice screeched from inside the bedroom and Alya sighed.

‘And that will be Lady Chloé. You can explore some more since you don’t actually start work until tomorrow. Just don’t go into either the prince’s quarters or the king’s, and I’ll come and find you later.’

Marinette nodded with a smile and she left Lady Chloé’s receiving room; now back in one of the palace’s corridors. It still took her breath away. Everything was so intricate. She stepped closer to one of the walls and let one of her fingers trace over the detailed ridges. Maybe, when she finally got her sewing machine, she could create a dress with a similar pattern to go on the bodice.

‘Are you lost?’

Marinette twirled around to face where the voice had come from, but she immediately regretted it when she bumped into them. She squeaked as she felt herself fall backwards, but the person she had turned around into put their hands on her waist to steady her.

‘I’m so sorry!’ Marinette said, holding onto the person’s forearms, but she stared at the floor, too embarrassed to look up.

‘It’s okay. You’re not hurt, are you?’

She shook her head, still clinging to the stranger. ‘I’m fine. Thank you for helping me. I’ll just go…’ Marinette attempted to leave, but the man still held around the waist.

‘I need to make sure you’re not hurt. Look at me please,’ he whispered, his voice so soft, and Marinette couldn’t help but oblige him.

The man was about her age, maybe ever so slightly older, with blond hair and amazing green eyes. They shone in the sunlight that came in through the large windows, brown and golden flecks highlighted in the irises. His smile was kind and Marinette tightened her grip on the man’s forearms as she felt herself blushing. He was incredibly good looking. Marinette only hoped he was as nice as he looked.

The man removed one of his hands from Marinette’s waist and cupped her cheek with it, gently caressing just underneath her eye. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’

‘I-I’m not o-okay,’ she stuttered, finding it hard to concentrate.

His eyes widened in concern and he stepped closer to her. ‘You’re not okay?!’

Marinette shook her head then. ‘No, I’m fine. I promise, I’m fine. I-I just got my words mixed up. Sorry.’

He smiled again. ‘You don’t need to apologise for that. It happens to everyone. What’s your name? If you don’t mind me asking.’

‘Marinette,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’m a maid, but I only arrived earlier today. Tomorrow’s my first official day. Alya was showing me around, but she had to tend to Lady Chloé.’

The man grimaced. ‘Will you be working for Chloé, too?’

Marinette nodded.

‘I feel sorry for you,’ he said.

‘Is she really as bad as everyone says she is?’

‘No. She’s much worse.’

Marinette still smiled. ‘I guess I’ll see tomorrow. What’s your name?’

He returned her smile. ‘Adrien,’ he said, his thumb still caressing the skin beneath Marinette’s eye. This girl was gorgeous. He couldn’t bear to tear himself away from her. But if his father or Nathalie saw him… He sighed and took a step back, reluctantly separating himself from Marinette. He wasn’t really supposed to talk to any of the servants, but he did anyway. He should really consider stopping soon: he didn’t want his father to fire anyone for talking to him. But when he had seen the beautiful maid wandering around, daydreaming, he hadn’t been able to resist going to talk to her. She fascinated him. He wasn’t sure why, though. He’d been around plenty of girls before. He’d grown up with Chloé, and he was friends with the majority of the female staff at the palace. Maybe it was because Marinette didn’t seem to know who he was? Or maybe she was just really good at hiding it. Either way, her shy kindness and beauty intrigued him.

‘Did Alya show you around the palace then?’

‘Err, yes, but I wasn’t really paying any attention. I couldn’t stop looking at the decor. This place is so gorgeous.’

Adrien smiled and took Marinette’s hand in his. He would have to be extra careful not to let his father of Nathalie see them together, but he knew their schedules. He was certain they could avoid them.

‘Would you like me to show you around some more?’ he asked. ‘I’ve been at the palace longer than Alya. I’m sure I could show you a few secrets.’

Marinette smiled at Adrien and squeezed his hand. ‘O-okay.’

Adrien grinned and he took off, pulling Marinette behind him, both of the teenagers laughing as they jogged through the palace corridors. He led them downstairs, to the library, which was fortunately empty. It was massive room, and the floor to ceiling bookcases made the room seem darker than the rest of the rooms in the palace, but it made the room feel cosier. Coupled with the crackling fire needed to warm the drafty room through and the smell of old books, it was Adrien’s favourite room in the palace.

Marinette glanced around with wide eyes. She had never been in a library before. There wasn’t one in the Cour des Miracles, and even if there had been, she would have no need to go inside. She couldn’t read or write. But she could appreciate the beauty of the room. She stepped forwards, Adrien’s hand slipping out of hers, and she walked down the length of one of the bookcases. They tomes were all leather bound and gold leaf picked out the titles on their spines. The edge of each shelf had been engraved with Gallic roosters and leaves, and she dragged her finger across the edge, feeling all of the smooth bumps and grooves.

Adrien stayed stood where Marinette had left him, watching her carefully. Her hands were small, tiny even, in comparison to the size of the bookcase she was touching and the books upon it. The rest of her was small and lithe, too, and even though Adrien was certain they were of a similar age, she was a lot smaller than him, only just coming up to his shoulders. Teamed with her high voice, wide eyes, and gorgeous face, Marinette was a sight to behold indeed.

The maid shivered and Adrien was upon her within a moment, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. ‘Sorry, it can get a little drafty in here because it’s so big. Let me show you somewhere else.’

Adrien quickly glanced behind them, checking that neither Nathalie or his father were in the library doorway, then he led Marinette further into the library where the fireplace was. Instead of sitting down in front of it, though, he kept going, approaching a door to the right of the mantelpiece. He let go of Marinette for a second, and then he took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, revealing a set of stone stairs. He put the key back in his pants and held out a hand to Marinette. ‘Do you trust me?’

She stared at him for a moment. Growing up in the Cour des Miracles had made her wary, but they were in the Champs-Élysées now. And Adrien had done nor said anything to make him seem dishonest. With a smile, she placed her hand in his and let him lead her down the steps.

They came out into a small sitting room. There was only room for a settee, a small bookcase, and a lit fire, but it was cosy and warm.

‘What is this place?’

Adrien smiled. ‘I’m not really sure. But my mother and I used to come here all the time. I still come here, on my own now. Generally more of to hide than anything else.’

‘Hide?’

The blond bit his lip. Marinette genuinely didn’t seem to know he was the prince, and he’d rather keep it that way. ‘Just from jobs and stuff. Doesn’t everyone do it?’

Marinette smiled. ‘I guess. How come you don’t come here with your mother anymore?’

Adrien glanced down at the floor. ‘She died. About a year ago now.’

‘Oh, Adrien, I’m so sorry… If I had known-’

He looked back up with a smile. ‘It’s fine. You weren’t to know. Come on, let’s get you warmed up.’ He took a step forwards, but Marinette didn’t move.

‘Are you sure we should be here? I don’t want you to feel like I’m encroaching on your mother’s memory.’

Adrien squeezed her hand. ‘You’re not. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I felt like that. Besides, I think she would have liked you.’

Marinette smiled and allowed Adrien to lead her into the room. They sat in front of the fireplace together, and once she was comfortable on the rug, Marinette turned to Adrien.

‘Tell me about your mother? What was she like?’

Adrien looked into the flames of the crinkling fire. ‘Kind. Really kind. Selfless. Caring. She was super beautiful, too. I have the same eyes as her.’

Marinette smiled, remembering how Adrien’s eyes had looked when the sun had been shining in the hallway outside of Lady Chloé’s quarters. They looked just as gorgeous now, shining in the firelight. ‘Your eyes are beautiful,’ she whispered.

The blond looked back at Marinette then. Her eyes were the colour of the bluebells that the royal gardeners grew in the spring, but around the centre, the irises were darker, tiny spots of black and navy decorating it. ‘So are yours,’ he whispered back, a small smile on his face. His smile grew as he watched a pink blush cover Marinette’s cheeks. He opened his mouth, about to tell her how pretty her blush was, too, but he heard a shout from inside the library.

‘Adrien?’

It was Nathalie. She didn’t know where he was, but if they stayed here much longer, then she’d find them for sure. He stood up quickly and Marinette looked up at him.

‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah. I just remembered that I had something to do. I’ll leave the door to this room unlocked, though, so you can back anytime you want to hide from Chloé. You can stay here for a bit longer if you like.’

Marinette shook her head and got up, too. ‘No, it’s fine. I should probably go and find my parents in the kitchens. I’ll come up with you.’

Adrien smiled at her, not knowing what else to say to make her stay down here for a little longer. He went up the stairs, Marinette following, but he tried to walk slowly. He could hear someone wandering around beyond the door. If Nathalie saw he’d been alone in a room with a girl, especially one who was a maid, then Marinette would be fired on the spot, and he would be severely punished.

But he had no choice now. They reached the top of the steps and Adrien pushed open the door, and to his relief, he saw Alya wandering in and out between the shelves, looking for something. Nathalie must have come in and briefly looked for him before leaving. It was Alya who he had heard wandering around.

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ Marinette asked as she shut the door behind them.

‘Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I just get unnecessarily jumpy sometimes,’ Adrien said with a light laugh. ‘Anyway, will I get to see you tomorrow?’

Marinette blushed again. ‘Maybe? I don’t know. You never told me what your job at the palace was.’

‘Marinette?’

Adrien sighed in relief as the sound of Alya’s voice. He really didn’t want to tell Marinette that he wasn’t a servant, too. He supposed he could have lied to her, but he didn’t want to hurt her.

Marinette smiled at the other maid as she approached them. ‘Alya! Is everything okay?’

‘Yeah, I just came to look for you.’ Alya glanced at Adrien. ‘Why were you with-’

‘Adrien.’

The blond boy held back the yelp that wanted to escape his throat as he turned to face Nathalie. How did she keep her footsteps so quiet?! His father’s advisor was sure to give him a heart attack one day with how silent she was.

‘Hi, Nathalie,’ he said, trying to cover up how shaken he felt.

‘Your father wanted to speak with you.’ She looked over at Alya and Marinette then. ‘What are you doing in here, Alya?’

‘Oh! Erm… Lady Chloé wanted me to fetch her a book, so I brought the new maid, Marinette, with me, to show her around the library. She starts tomorrow. Her parents are the new head bakers.’

Nathalie nodded. ‘I see.’ She looked between the three teenagers, eyes slightly narrowed, and Adrien grimaced: Nathalie was definitely suspicious. ‘Come along, Adrien.’

He nodded and followed Nathalie out of the library without looking back at Marinette. He had wanted to smile and wave at her, shout that he’d find her tomorrow, but that would have definitely made Nathalie suspicious. Instead, he kept his head down, bracing himself for whatever his father wanted from him next.

Marinette frowned as she watched Adrien go. He had seemed so much happier earlier. What had happened?

‘Girl,’ Alya said with gritted teeth. ‘What on earth do you think you were doing hanging out with the prince?!’

Marinette took a moment to process what Alya said, then she gasped. How could she have been so stupid? Of course, he was the prince! Prince Adrien! He’d never visited Cour des Miracles before, but Marinette had seen official portraits of him and oh, god, why hadn’t she realised sooner?! His green eyes from his mum, the fact that she was dead, that he knew his way around the palace better than Alya. She was an idiot. ‘I-I didn’t know… I bumped into him by accident and…’

Alya sighed and rubbed a hand down Marinette’s arm. ‘It’s fine. Just… his dad, the king, isn’t fond of Adrien talking to servants.’

‘Oh.’

Alya bit her lip. She had been friends with Adrien ever since she and her mother had begun working in the palace five years ago. He hadn’t quite been the same since his mother died, but during the brief exchange she had seen between Marinette and him, it reminded Alya of how Adrien used to be. He was always so happy, like the ball of sunshine his mother used to call him. She should really do more to discourage Marinette from talking to him, but if she made the prince happy… ‘Adrien really seems to like you, though. Just make sure that Nathalie or the king don’t see you talking to him.’

Marinette nodded with a smile. ‘Okay. I’m going to go and see my parents. I’ll see you later.’ She left the library, thankfully remembering the way back to the stairs that led down into the kitchens.

As soon as she began descending the stairs, the smell of food and the sound of shouting hit her. When she got further down, she saw who she presumed to be Alya’s mum, wearing a white chef’s outfit, shouting instructions to the other cooks, and Marinette’s parents were stood off to one side, slowly and quietly mixing together cake batter together.

Marinette dodged between the other chefs, then perched on the counter by her parents. ‘Hey,’ she said, and her parents looked up with bright smiles.

‘Marinette!’ her mum exclaimed. ‘Did you have a good day?’

‘Yeah. Alya, the girl I’m sharing a room with, showed me around the palace. And I met someone else, too,’ she said with a smile, hoping the steam from the nearby stove would mask her blush.

‘It sounds good, sweetie,’ her dad said. ‘Why don’t you head to bed? It’s only going to get busier in here as it gets nearer to dinnertime and you’ll need your rest for tomorrow.’

‘Okay,’ Marinette hopped off the counter and kissed both of her parents on the cheek before she navigated her way back to her room.

It was how she left it, her simple cloth dress laid out on the bed from when she had changed before and her suitcase on the floor. She put it on the bed now and opened it up, unpacking her few belongings and putting them away in the dresser before changing her maid uniform for her simple nightgown.

She got into bed then, sighing in happiness at how soft the bed was. After sleeping for only one night on it, she was certain she wouldn’t be able to sleep on the floor again.

She snuggled under the sheets and closed her eyes, and as soon as she did, she was greeted with an image of Adrien, smiling at her, golden flecks in his eyes, his arms around her waist. She’d heard what Alya had said, and now that she knew Adrien was the crown prince of France, they couldn’t be together. She sighed into her pillow. It was unfair, but she wouldn’t pursue anything with him, even though she was already smitten.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette can't stop thinking about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk how to say "hope you're okay" yet so I hope this will do :*
> 
> 괜찮아 (●´ω｀●)

Adrien tore apart his croissant, but he wasn’t even looking at it. He had a dopey smile on his face as he stared straight ahead, seemingly at one of the dining hall’s tapestries.

Nino, one of the knights, chuckled from beside him. ‘Dude, what’s got into you this morning? And why are you tearing up the croissant? They’re even better than usual. I spoke to Alya last night and she said the new bakers are amazing. She’s right.’

Adrien put one of the bigger pieces he had yet to tear up in his mouth and his smile got wider as he ate. Marinette’s parents had these. Marinette. _His_ Marinette.

Nino laughed again. ‘Seriously, what’s got into you? I’ve never seen you like this.’

The prince turned to his best friend then. ‘I’ve met someone. A girl.’

Nino shuffled over to him a little. ‘I’m listening. Is she as amazing as my Alya?’

‘Even more amazing than Alya. Her name’s Marinette.’ Adrien lowered his voice then. ‘She’s a palace maid.’

Nino frowned. He was courting a palace maid himself, but he was a knight, not the crown prince of France. ‘That’s great, but… is there much point in even attempting to court her? Your father won’t ever allow it. He wants you to marry Princess Lila, or someone who is royal.’

Adrien groaned at the mention of Princess Lila of Germany. She was insufferable and a compulsive liar. Adrien definitely _did_ not want to marry her. And even though he didn’t know her all that well, Adrien would marry Marinette tomorrow if it meant he would never have to marry Lila. ‘I can’t not try to develop a relationship with her. I really like her, Nino.’

Adrien’s bright attitude seemed to fade as he spoke and Nino panicked: it had been so long since he had seen his best friend this happy. ‘Then I think you should pursue it. I just don’t want you, or her, getting hurt.’

The smile returned to Adrien’s face. ‘Thanks, man.’ He ate a few more scraps of his croissant then stood up. ‘Come on, let’s get to training.’

…

Marinette and Alya were sat at the worn dining table in the servant’s quarters, the former girl dozing and day dreaming over the plate of croissants in the centre of the table.

Alya giggled. ‘Stop daydreaming about the prince, she whispered. ‘We need to go and get Lady Chloé ready for the day.’

Marinette stood up with a sigh. Alya was right. She needed to stop thinking about the prince. Even if the other girl had been teasing when she’d said it, but she was right. She dreamed what it would be like to stroll around the palace, hand in hand with Adrien, or dance with him in the candle light at a ball. It would never happen. It _could_ never happen.

The two girls left the servant’s quarters and began the trek up to Lady Chloé’s quarters. When they got to the second split in the corridor, though, Marinette couldn’t help but turn to look at the double doors that led to Adrien’s rooms. She would never get to go in there. Not as a servant, and certainly not as anything more.

She turned away but held in her sigh and continued to follow Alya into Lady Chloé’s quarters. They passed through her receiving room, then entered the bedroom.

Lady Chloé was sat on the end of her double bed, wrapped in a white silk dressing gown. She had long blonde hair and sharp eyes, and she would have looked beautiful if it weren’t for the perpetual frown on her face.

‘Césaire! Where have you been?! I’ve missed having breakfast with my Adrikins!’

Alya curtsied. ‘I’m sorry, your Highness, but you always ask for me to come and dress you at half past eight, not earlier.’

Chloe tutted and transferred her gaze to Marinette. ‘Is this the new maid?’

Marinette curtsied. ‘Yes, your Highness,’ she said, copying what Alya had said. Shouldn’t she really be addressed as my lady? From what she’d heard yesterday about Lady Chloé, though, she probably would be insulted being called a title any less then Highness. ‘My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It’s a pleasure to serve you.’

Chloé clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. ‘Is that so, Dupain-Cheng?’ After only one look at her maid, Chloé had decided she didn’t like her. Her eyes were too wide, her skin too pale, and she was far too pretty. She needed to be kept away from her Adrien. ‘Whatever.’ She turned back to Alya. ‘Do my hair. Dupain-Cheng, fetch me a dress. A green one. That’s Adrien’s favourite colour.’

Marinette nodded and left the room, remembering where the closet was from where Alya had pointed it out yesterday.

She opened the door and gasped as she stepped inside. There must have been more than one hundred dresses on the rails, all in varying colours and styles. Hats were balanced on busts on a shelf above the dresses, and shoes were all lined up perfectly on another shelf below. How much had been spent to fill this room with garments? How many hours of labour had gone into this? Either way, it was magnificent. She walked between the rails, marvelling at the reams of silk and velvet and linen until she got to where the green dresses were hung up. There were only three, all with different styles and varying shades, so Marinette picked the one that matched the colour of Adrien’s eyes the most. Not that she been staring yesterday. Not at all.

She made her way back to Chloé’s bedroom with it, but the blonde girl turned her nose up at it.

‘Not that one!’

Marinette took it back and picked another one, but this time, Chloé threw the dress to the floor, letting the fine material crease.

‘Can you not do anything right?! I said green!’ She scoffed. ‘Césaire, give her some money. Go to the market and buy me some sunflowers. Surely an idiot like you can manage that.’

‘Yes, your Highness.’ Marinette curtsied, then Alya pulled her over to one side.

‘Don’t worry,’ she whispered as she pushed a small coin purse into her hands. ‘You’re doing great.’

Marinette managed to a give her friend a small smile then she left Chloé’s quarters. She wasn’t enjoying her new job so far, but she was doing this so she could see Adrien. Marinette blushed: that _wasn’t_ the reason why she was here. She was working at the palace so she could with her _parents,_ not the prince.

She shook her head and made her way down to the servant’s quarters, grabbed a flower basket from the kitchen, then left the palace.

…

‘Right, okay, so, the techniques you need to use for this are… ummm…’ Adrien trailed off as a large and bright smile came over his face as his mind drifted to Marinette once more. He hadn’t seen her today yet, but he really wanted to. If he hadn’t seen her by dinner, he would go down to the servant’s quarters himself to find her.

The knights began to laugh and Adrien snapped out of his daze and smiled sheepishly at them. ‘Sorry, guys.’

Nino, Ivan, Kim, and Alix just shook their heads.

‘It’s fine, take your time, your Highness,’ Kim said.

‘Yeah, the technique is-’ Adrien stopped talking completely then. He and the knight were stood in the rear palace gardens on a large patch of grass, and about three metres away, on the stone path, knee-high hedgerows and flower beds on either side of her, was Marinette. She was strolling down the path, an empty basket resting in the crook of her elbow, a light and dazed smile on her face. She looked gorgeous in the sunlight.

Nino turned to the source of Adrien’s distraction and smiled when he saw the pretty maid. That must have been the one he had fallen for. He knew there couldn’t be a future for her and Adrien, but if just looking at her caused the prince to be this happy that he got distracted from training, something he had been dedicated to his whole life, then maybe it would be good to let his best friend indulge for once. He went over to Adrien and smiled at him. ‘I’ll train the knights today. Go and spend some time with her.’

Adrien gave Nino his widest and brightest smile, then he jogged across the lawn towards Marinette. ‘Hey,’ he said, and the maid broke out of her daze and looked over at Adrien,

He was wearing simple black pants, along with a pair of boots and a loose white shirt; a sword was strapped to his hip. His face was as gorgeous as ever and Marinette already felt her heart fluttering in her chest from the sight of him alone. But she remembered Alya’s words: nothing could come of this. ‘Good morning, your Highness,’ she said as she curtsied.

The smile dropped right off Adrien’s face. Did Marinette find out he was the prince? Alya must have told her yesterday after she saw them together in the library. Adrien didn’t want people to treat him differently because he was the prince, especially not Marinette. But that was the least of his worries. Did Marinette hate him for not telling her that he was the prince? ‘Why are you curtsying?’

‘B-because you’re the prince,’ she whispered.

He took her hands in his. ‘Are you angry that I didn’t tell you I was the prince?’

Marinette shook her head. ‘No, not at all. It was my mistake for not realising sooner. But should we even be talking to each other? I’m just a maid.’

Adrien’s hold on Marinette’s hands tightened slightly. ‘You are not just a maid, Marinette.’

‘Even so, we shouldn’t be seen together.’

Adrien closed his eyes. This is why he didn’t want Marinette to find out, so she wouldn’t treat him like this. ‘Please,’ he whispered, ‘don’t treat me differently. My father barely talks to me, and when he does, all he wants to know is how I’ll run France when I’m king. Chloé is arrogant and rude and cares about no one but herself, so the only people I have to make friends with are the knights, maids, and footmen. It took me years to show the knights that I’m just like everyone else and to get them to act normally around me. Please don’t shut me out.’

‘Adrien…’

The prince looked up with a small smile then. ‘That’s much better. Please call me like that from now on. I hate being called your Highness.’

Marinette matched his smile. ‘And what will you call me?’

He hummed and swung their joined hands a little. ‘I like Marinette for now, until I think of a nickname for you. Is that okay?’

Marinette’s smile widened. ‘That’s fine.’

‘Where were you going by the way? Weren’t you tending to Chloé this morning?’

‘Oh,’ Marinette frowned. ‘I don’t think she likes me very much. She asked me to get her a green dress from her closet since she said it was your favourite colour and she had three so I just picked the one that I thought was closest to the colour of your eyes, but she didn’t like it, and she didn’t want the second one, so she sent me out to buy her sunflowers from the market. One of the footmen said I should go through the rear gardens and out of the gate here, since it would be closer, but I have no idea where it actually is. I’m not from this part of Paris.’

‘I can go with you.’

Marinette’s eyes widened. ‘Are you allowed to do that? Leave the palace, I mean, you know, without a guard or something.’

Adrien smiled and let go of Marinette’s hands. ‘Of course. As you may have noticed, my father can be very protective over me, hence why I have to make friends with the palace staff. And there are very few official portraits of me, and I don’t think any of them are particularly lifelike. I never get recognised.’

Marinette nodded as they began to walk through the gardens together, heading for the gates at the rear. Only the king and queen had ever been on official trips and made public appearances, but the prince never had. Marinette would know. She adored the royal family. She would have heard if Prince Adrien had made a state visit to the Cour des Miracles. Or anywhere, actually. ‘Yeah. The King and Queen came to the Cour des Miracles once a year, but you never came with them.’

‘Why would you have known whether or not I visited the Cour des Miracles?’

Marinette almost stopped walking. She wasn’t supposed to tell him that. Of course, Adrien knew she was poor, but the Cour des Miracles were the slums of Paris, where only the lowest of the low lived. ‘Err… well… that’s where I used to live.’ She bowed her head. ‘I understand if you want to leave now. I’m sure I can make it to the market on my own.’

‘And why would I want to leave?’

She risked a quick peek at him to find that he was smiling at her. ‘Well, I’m from the Cour des Miracles. That’s where I’d lived my whole life up until yesterday.’

The small remained on his face. ‘So? It all it means is that you didn’t have a lot of money. That doesn’t mean I’m just going to abandon you and suddenly stop being friends with you.’ He wanted to add on the end about them developing their friendship into something else, but he refrained. Marinette obviously felt a little shy around him now that she knew he was the prince. He had to take this slowly.

They left the palace gardens then and entered onto the busy street, and Adrien led the way, completely at ease in the crowds.

‘Do you come out on your own often then?’

Adrien nodded. ‘Without my father knowing, of course. I think it’s important to get to know the people of Paris. These are the people I’ll be making decisions for when I become king, so I should get to know them and the city, to see what needs work, who needs help.’ He turned to her with a small smile. ‘What would you say needs to happen in the Cour des Miracles?’

‘People just need jobs, but employers are reluctant to give anyone work who don’t have any formal education. The best they can get is labour work, but that doesn’t pay very well, and it’s not constant employment. And most of the people who live there can’t read and write.’

‘Can you?’

Marinette looked down at the cobbled pavement as they walked through Paris. In the Cour des Miracles, it was normal to not know how. Her parents didn’t know how: they just learnt their recipes by word of mouth, and they’d never had much trouble, but she felt embarrassed admitting that to the prince. Even so, she shook her head. ‘I can sew, though.’

Adrien hummed. His mother had loved to sew when she had the time. ‘Very impressive. Do you like embroidery?’

‘No. I like making clothes. Well, I’ve actually only ever made one dress, and it took me three years to save up all of the money for the material and supplies, and then I spent another year looking for a sewing machine to borrow so I could actually make it, but I eventually did it. I’m going to use my wage to save up for a sewing machine and materials of my own so I can do it more regularly. Will your father allow me to have a sewing machine in the palace?’ she asked, biting her lip. She had never considered that King Gabriel might not allow her to own one.

Adrien nodded. ‘As long as the staff do their jobs and don’t disturb him, my father doesn’t care what anyone does.’ They continued to walk and Adrien kept glancing over at Marinette. He could buy her a sewing machine and all of the material she could ever want within a heartbeat, but she seemed really excited about saving up for them. But sewing machines were expensive. It would take Marinette probably a decade to save up the money for one. Maybe he could help her with it, but without her knowing. It would be a nice surprise for her, since she’d already done so much for him already. Just by being around him was making him smile non-stop and he was all the happier for it. She seemed to be happy, too, in her own anxious way, but he revelled a little in seeing her so flustered. He smirked as he remembered what she’d said before about his eyes and tried to steer the conversation towards that. ‘So, when you get everything you need, what will you make first?’

‘A dress, probably. I love to wear them but I don’t have very many.’

‘What colour?’

Marinette blushed. She had thought green, but she wasn’t sure if she should say that out loud now. ‘Errmm… I was thinking pink.’

The prince hummed, not believing her. ‘I think you should go with green. You seem to like it. Especially since you picked Chloé a dress that you thought was the closest to the colour of my eyes.’

Her blush darkened. ‘I-I didn’t mean to. S-she didn’t want to match your eyes, actually. She wanted it green as she said it was your favourite colour.’

‘She’s wrong. Well, green _was_ my favourite colour up until recently.’

‘Oh? What’s your new favourite colour?’

Adrien turned to her, their eyes meeting properly. He smiled. ‘I think it’s quickly becoming blue.’

Marinette was sure her entire face went red and Adrien just laughed. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Anyway, we’ve arrived at the market.’

She looked away from him and smiled. Set up across the river from the Eiffel Tower were hundreds of stalls, all with brightly coloured canopies. Children were running everywhere and laughing, and adults were looking around, browsing the wares of the vendors. It seemed lively and fun. They didn’t get many markets in the Cour des Miracles, but whenever they were set up, they were always fun, even if Marinette and her parents couldn’t buy anything.

Adrien loved it here, too. He had never been able to play as a child. None of the servants, thankfully, had been his age, and Chloé, as much Adrien could despise her at times, didn’t come to live in the palace until they were both thirteen, and by then, Adrien was already dedicated to training with the knights and learning with Nathalie how to become a good leader, as well as spending time reading with his mother. Watching the children play at the market made him smile. He had never got to do that, and he hoped that one day, if he got to have children of his own, he would have loads of fun with them.

‘Did you want to look at the fabric stalls?’ Adrien asked. Maybe he could find out what materials and colours she liked so he could surprise her with them, maybe for her birthday or something, when he found out when it was. Did she receive many presents on her past birthdays? It was sad to think of, but no, she probably didn’t, considering where she had lived up until yesterday. But he would make her first birthday in the palace the best one ever.

Marinette shook her head, though. ‘If I see anything I like, I’ll just want to buy it, but I don’t have the money for it yet. And we’ve already been a while. I don’t want Lady Chloé to shout at me again. But thank you for the offer.’

Adrien nodded and he led the way to the flower stall, but he had a frown on his face as he walked. Why was Chloé shouting at Marinette? He would have to talk to her about it later.

The flower stall wasn’t that far into the market, and the canopy for it was red with black dots. There were plenty of fresh flowers, and there was a small redheaded woman stood beside the stall with a smile on her face. ‘Can I help you?’ she asked. Her voice was incredibly high-pitched, but she seemed kind.

‘Yes,’ Adrien said. ‘We need to buy some sunflowers.’

The woman’s smile widened. ‘Young man, you shouldn’t be buying flowers for your lady in front of her.’

Both Marinette and Adrien blushed and stuttered, but before either of them could get a full word out, someone else spoke.

‘Don’t tease them like that, sugar cube. That’s not very nice.’

The flower lady glared at the stall owner opposite her and Marinette and Adrien turned to find a lanky man with black hair and green eyes smirking at her, leant against a table full of cheese.

‘Stay out of this, stinky sock.’

He smiled then. ‘I’m sure this young couple would prefer some cheese rather than flowers.’

Adrien let out a nervous laugh. ‘The flowers are fine.’

Marinette handed the coin pouch over to the woman and in return, she placed twenty sunflowers in the basket. She leant close to Marinette as she put them in, then whispered to her, ‘he didn’t say you weren’t his girlfriend. Don’t give out hope yet.’

The maid just smiled and watched as Adrien spoke with the cheese stall owner. ‘Thanks, but we can’t be together.’

The other lady just smirked. ‘Whoever said a maid can’t marry a prince?’

Marinette gasped but all the flower lady did was wink at her. The maid quickly shuffled over to Adrien and he smiled down at her.

‘Are you ready to go?’

She just nodded and they left the market and walked back to the palace together. They were silent as they went, but it wasn’t awkward. Both teenagers were imagining what it would be like to spend every day together like this, which made blushes rise up on their faces.

They re-entered the rear palace gardens and strolled down the path together, walking past the gardeners and the knights until Marinette stopped, a few metres away from the entrance to the servant’s quarters.

‘Thank you for taking me to the market and back, Adrien, but I’m not so sure we should talk to each other again,’ she said, addressing Adrien’s boots rather than his face.

‘Look at me.’

‘I-I can’t…’

Adrien reached out slowly and cupped Marinette’s face in his hands. Her eyes were wide and she looked as if she was about to start crying.

‘Do you still want to see and talk to me?’

‘Yes, of course, I do, but we shouldn’t. We _can’t._ I’m sorry, I really am sorry, but there’s no point in us seeing each other anymore. I’m sorry, Adrien.’ Then Marinette turned and walked away. She didn’t want to say any of that, but she was falling, and falling hard for the prince. It was better that she cut this off with him now, so she wouldn’t get hurt later, when he ultimately married a princess.

Adrien stayed stuck to the spot, staring at where Marinette had been. He wanted to cry. Why did she say all of that? He thought she liked him. Really liked him. His heart felt like it was breaking.

‘Dude?’

He turned around and saw Nino, the other knights practising back on the lawn.

‘What is it?’

‘You okay? You’ve just been stood here for a solid five minutes after that maid left.’

Adrien’s automatic response should have been _I’m fine_ but he wasn’t. He was the furthest thing from fine that he could be right now. ‘No, I’m not okay.’

Nino’s face dropped. ‘Is there anything I can do?’

‘Yes, actually. Can you and Alya meet me in our usual spot as soon as possible? I need to get some advice from you.’

The knight nodded. ‘Of course. I’ll go and see if she’s done with Lady Chloé for the morning. I’ll see you there later.’

Adrien nodded and stayed stood where he was. He didn’t know what do, but this couldn’t be the end. Hopefully, Alya and Nino could help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tries to find a way to still talk to Marinette.

Once he’d retrieved Alya, she and Nino went to the alcove just outside the entrance to Adrien’s quarters. Girls weren’t allowed inside his quarters, the same way boys weren’t allowed in Chloé’s. That’s why the three friends met here, behind a statue of a previous king, and in the recess of the wall.

When they arrived, Adrien was already there, slumped against the wall. He smiled at his two friends when he saw them slip behind the statue, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

‘What happened?’ Alya asked, only having just come out of Lady Chloé’s quarters before Nino grabbed her. He didn’t explain what was going on.

‘I spoke to Marinette.’

Alya smiled. ‘That’s a good thing, isn’t it?’ It technically wasn’t, since they couldn’t be together, and any relationship they tried to have would end in heartbreak when Adrien was ultimately married off, but she thought that Marinette made him happy. ‘What happened?’

‘We walked to the market together to get Chloé some sunflowers, but when we got back to the palace, she told me that we couldn’t talk to each other anymore.’ He looked at Alya then. ‘You told her I’m the prince, didn’t you?’

The maid bowed her head. ‘I’m sorry. I thought she already knew who you were. Turns out she didn’t.’

‘She hates me now.’

Nino rolled his eyes. ‘She doesn’t hate you, dude. She’s just a bit more wary around you now. What did you expect when she found out? She’s a maid from the slums of Paris and you’re the prince of France. Is it any wonder why she feels a little… this probably isn’t the right word, but intimidated by you? Plus, she doesn’t want to get in trouble. Who knows what your father will be like if he finds out that you’ve been talking to the servants?’

Alya agreed. ‘She and her parents have been wanting to get out of the Cour des Miracles for so long, Adrien. She can’t let them get fired. They’d have nothing.’

‘I understand that, but… I need a way to speak to her,’ he said, tears in his eyes now. ‘I can’t let her go this easily, not without trying.’

Both Alya and Nino stared at Adrien with wide eyes. It had only been a day since he’d known Marinette, but the prince was about to cry over her. What was going on?

‘Dude… what’s wrong? Marinette seems nice and everything, but she’s just a girl.’

Adrien gasped as he knelt on the floor, trying to calm himself down. ‘I just…’ he whispered. ‘I don’t want to lose anyone else. And she’s so wonderful. My mum would have loved her.’

Alya knelt down beside the prince then and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Even though his mum had died about a year ago now, Adrien had been very close to her. Her passing obviously still upset him greatly. But if Marinette could help him be happy again, then she would help, and she was certain Nino would, too.

‘Okay. We’ll help. I can talk to Marinette. We share a room. I can convince her to change her mind, I’m sure I can. But if she does agree, I don’t know how easily it’ll be for you two to talk freely in the palace.’

‘I could send her letters,’ Adrien said, feeling hopeful, but then it faded quickly. ‘She can’t read and write, though.’

‘I could teach her,’ Alya offered.

‘Are you sure?’ Nino asked and Alya nodded.

‘Of course. We have enough time. Lady Chloé only needs us in the morning and in the evening. And I love teaching people things. Besides, this will be a useful skill for Marinette to learn. It’s not so she can just talk to Adrien.’

They heard footsteps then and Nino peered around the statue and saw Marinette walking towards the door that led into Chloé’s quarters, the basket of flowers nestled in the crook of her elbow. ‘She’s just gone back into Lady Chloé’s quarters.’

‘Okay,’ Alya said, taking charge now. ‘This is what I want you to do.’

…

Marinette cleaned Chloe’s desk in the receiving room half-heartedly. It wasn’t that dusty and besides, she didn’t really feel like cleaning after telling Adrien that they couldn’t see each other again whilst breaking her own heart in the process. But it was better this way for both of them. Even though she wanted nothing more to lean into all of his touches. But she had to think about her parents. They came first. She had to work hard for them.

Adrien came into the room then, but Marinette didn’t look up, now completely focused on cleaning. He watched her for a moment. Even now, with a sad frown on her face, she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. He couldn’t let her go.

‘Hey.’

She looked up then and gasped. ‘Adrien! I mean, your Highness! What are you doing in here? Lady Chloé’s taking a nap in the next room, and Alya said that boys aren’t allowed in Chloé’s quarters! I don’t want to get in trouble,’ she said, her voice progressively lowering until she was whispering. ‘We shouldn’t be talking anyway.’

‘About that,’ he said as he took a few steps closer to her so he was stood at the other side of the desk. ‘I like you too much for this to stop before it starts. Will you at least give me a chance?’

She looked away from him. ‘I don’t know if I can. My parents-’

‘I know. But we can keep this a secret, okay?’

‘How?’

Adrien lifted up his hand then, and for the first time, Marinette noticed that he was holding a book with a note tucked into the top. ‘Through letters. Alya has offered to teach you how to read. This way we can talk without fear of getting caught. Once she’s taught you the basics, you should be able to read my note. And if you don’t decide to come, then that’s fine, but at least this way you get to learn how to read, too.’ He slid the book across the desk towards her. ‘Please just think about it.’

Marinette bit her lip and nodded, but didn’t look up to meet the prince’s eyes. ‘Okay.’

Adrien smiled. ‘I’ll hopefully see you soon then.’ He bounced out of Chloé’s receiving room then and practically skipped down the hall to his own quarters. Marinette had to say yes. She just had to.

…

When Marinette was done for the day, which ended up being at about eight in the evening, she spent some time with her parents in the dining room before she dragged herself back to her room. She was so tired. The requirements of the job weren’t particularly burdensome, but it was because of who she was doing them for. Why couldn’t she have been assigned to Adrien instead? She blushed at the thought and quickly dismissed it, only to suddenly remember that Alya was supposed to be teaching her to read and write.

She paused outside of their shared bedroom, significantly more awake now than she had been a moment ago. She’d come down before dinner earlier to put the book and note Adrien had given her on her bed, but should she really do this? She liked Adrien, she really did, but what was the point? Nothing could happen between them. And he probably didn’t even see her that way, did he? She was being delusional, thinking a prince could ever be interested in her. Adrien was just lonely. He just wanted friends. And she would do her royal duty and be friends with the prince.

She opened the door then and Alya smiled at her from her bed, holding the book in her hands. ‘Ready to get started?’

‘Yeah.’

An hour later, Marinette could just about read and write the entire alphabet, so Alya let her have a ten-minute break. The blue-eyed maid led down on her bed, one hand to her head. She could feel it pounding slightly from everything she had just learnt.

‘How are you finding it?’ Alya asked from her own bed.

‘It’s okay. A bit hard trying to memorise it all.’

‘I guess you’d do anything for Adrien.’

Marinette sat up. ‘It’s not like that,’ she whispered. ‘He just wants some more friends.’

‘Well, if he just wants friends, then maybe he should stop flirting with you at any spare moment he gets.’

Marinette blushed and brought her knees up to her chest. ‘Is he… usually like that around girls?’ she asked. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she had to know.

‘No. Never. I’ve known him since I was about fourteen. And yeah, don’t get me wrong, he’s kind to everyone he meets, and he talks to the other serving girls around the palace, as well as Lady Chloé, but he’s usually super shy. It’s kind of refreshing to see him like this.’

‘What do you mean?’

Alya sighed and crossed the room so she was sat beside Marinette. ‘His father, King Gabriel, is really strict, and he’s quite harsh on Adrien, so he kind of suppresses who he truly is. But these past two days… Adrien seems to be really embracing himself. He’s only really like that with Nino and me. It’s good to see. Come on, let’s carry on.’

Marinette agreed and listened attentively as Alya taught her how to form words, but she couldn’t help but let her mind drift back to Adrien. Alya had said he wasn’t like this with other girls. It was just her. Maybe he did like her more than just a friend.

She found herself smiling and threw herself back into the lesson with renewed vigour, and by the time the clocks in Paris were striking midnight, Marinette managed to read the note by candlelight:

_Picnic at seven o’clock tomorrow night. Alya will take you to the location._

_Adrien_

Marinette took a moment to trace her finger over the name of the prince, written in his neat hand. The word looked so pretty. How would her name look written by him?

She read out the note to Alya, then looked up with a smile. ‘Did I say it right?’

‘Yes. But the real question is, will you go to him?’

Marinette bit her lip and looked back down at the note. She should say no. Nothing good could come of this. But it was just a picnic. What harm could it do? ‘I will.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette go on their picnic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! This is going to be the last update for a couple of weeks whilst I plan out the rest of the story! I hope you all understand! :*

Marinette found that her hands shook as she cleaned the window ledges in Lady Chloé’s receiving room. Tonight was the night. It was her picnic with Adrien. And even though she’d already told Alya that she would be going, she was incredibly nervous.

She wanted to go: she really did. She loved spending time with Adrien. The time she’d already spent with him when he showed her around the palace and when they wandered around Paris together was wonderful. But he was a prince and she was a maid. Not to mention the already obvious fact that they couldn’t be together, but what be the repercussions on her and her family if anyone ever found out? As much as she adored the royal family, Marinette didn’t know a great deal about them, and had no idea that King Gabriel could be so cruel to his own son until last night. How would he react if he knew that Adrien was going on dates with a maid from the slums? Marinette and her parents would be fired for certain.

She needed to think more about this. She couldn’t just do what her heart wanted. There were more people to consider.

She stopped cleaning and peered around the receiving room. It was immaculate now and Alya wasn’t around. She strained her ears, and there was no sound to indicate that Lady Chloé was in her room. She was more than likely having lunch downstairs, probably flirting with Adrien. Marinette felt a surge of jealousy go through her, but she ignored it. There was nothing between her and Adrien. They were just friends, nothing more. And in the end, Adrien would probably end up married to Chloé, or someone like her.

Marinette threw her cloth down in frustration. Now she _really_ needed to clear her head.

She tucked the cloth into her apron, then left Chloé’s quarters and started walking down to the palace library. All this thinking wasn’t doing her any good, but she needed to think. She couldn’t see Adrien tonight if she didn’t get this sorted out in her head.

The maid entered the library and walked down the aisles of books. She came to where the fireplace was and went to the right of it. The door was closed, but Marinette tried the handle. It opened with a creak and Marinette smiled: Adrien was true to his word.

She shut the door behind her and descended the stone steps. The fireplace was crackling away and Marinette headed over to it. This is what she needed right now. As she was about to settle down on the settee, though, Marinette saw someone sat on the floor, reading.

‘Adrien?’

He turned his head with a smile. ‘Marinette.’

‘I can go. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have come if I’d known that-’

The prince put down his book. ‘Nonsense. I said you could come in here whenever you needed. Come, sit down.’ He patted the floor beside him and Marinette knelt down next to him.

‘Are you looking forward to tonight?’ he asked.

‘I- yes,’ Marinette said, looking at the fire and not Adrien.

He frowned. ‘Is there something the matter?’

‘It’s just…’ she brought her knees up to her chest. ‘I want to go. I really do. I love spending time with you, but I’m scared.’

Adrien bit his lip. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he wasn’t sure if the moment was right. ‘Scared of what? Not of me, right?’

She let out a little chuckle. ‘No, not of you. I could never be scared of you. I’m scared of the repercussions if someone finds out what we’re doing.’

‘And by someone you mean…?’

‘Your father. Alya told me about him last night. I’m worried that my parents will be fired if the king found out that we were sneaking around to hang out.’

He did reach out to her then, taking her hand in his. ‘That won’t happen. I’ll handle it.’ He said it confidently, assertively, but in truth, he hoped his father wouldn’t find out. Because if he _did_ find out, then Marinette and her parents would be fired for certain, and Adrien would be married off to the nearest princess. It wouldn’t end well for either of them. But his father wouldn’t find out. If what Adrien did didn’t affect his reputation, then he couldn’t care less. Everything would be fine. They would just have to be careful. ‘Have I allayed your fears?’

Marinette nodded with a small smile, turning to look at Adrien now. ‘Yeah.’

‘And will I see you tonight? I understand if you’ve changed your mind.’

The maid shook her head. ‘No. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.’

‘Good. I can’t wait to see you, my lady.’ He turned over the hand he was holding and leant down, kissing her knuckles lightly.

Marinette’s entire face went red but she didn’t remove her hand from Adrien’s hold. ‘M-me, too…’

The prince smiled and let go of her. ‘I’ll see you later.’

She stood up then, stumbling slightly as she hurried out of the room. She ran up the stairs and shut the door behind her, then leant against it as she tried to calm down. Her heart was racing at a mile a minute. That boy… she managed to hold back her squeal of joy, then looked at her hand. He had kissed her there. Oh, god, she was falling hard for him.

‘Marinette?’

She looked up and smiled when she saw Alya approaching her. ‘Hey. I was just about to come back up to Chloé’s quarters.’

Alya just smirked. ‘Were you with the prince, by any chance?’

Marinette’s only reply was her blush and Alya laughed.

‘It’s okay, girl. Why don’t you go and get ready? I’ll handle Lady Chloé.’

‘Oh, are you sure?’

‘I’m sure. Go on.’

‘Thank you!’ Marinette gave the other maid a quick hug, then she scampered off to the servants quarters.

Dinner had already been and gone, so the palace kitchens were, thankfully, empty. If Marinette’s parents had seen her, they’d only want to spend time with her. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing: she loved her parents, but right now, she needed to get ready.

She went into her room and opened one of the dresser drawers. Inside were her clothes. There was her nightgown on the left, then her underwear, and two casual outfits in the middle. And at the far end was the dress she had spent years making. It was a simple white shift drift that fell below her knees and in cased her arms in bishop sleeves. It was pretty and she thought it suited her. Well, she hoped it did. It took her so long to make and she had yet to wear it.

She took her maid uniform off and swapped the cap and apron for her dress. Marinette smoothed the material out over her body. There was no mirror in here: she had no idea if she looked good. She would have to wait until Alya came back to get her opinion. She took her hair down out of her pigtails and let it fan out over her shoulders. Would this look okay? She didn’t want to wear her hair like she normally did, but she didn’t know what else to do with it. She only wore it down to sleep, and there was a reason why she always wore it up. She thought she looked awful with her hair down. But what else was she supposed to do with it?

Marinette brought her thumb up to her mouth and started to nibble on the dead skin there. What was she going to do? She had to look nice. Adrien was the prince, for goodness sake. She couldn’t go and meet him looking so plain.

‘Hey, don’t do that.’

She spun around with a quiet squeal and saw Alya stood in the doorway. ‘Shouldn’t you be with Lady Chloé?’

‘She’s in bed. How long do you think I’ve been? I was with her for half an hour.’

Marinette’s eyes widened. Gosh, she was anxious about this date. ‘Oh. Do I look okay?’

‘You look beautiful. I wish you wore your hair down like that more often.’

She glared at the strands lying on her shoulders. ‘Really? Don’t you think it looks kind of… gross?’

Alya laughed and shook her head. ‘Not at all. Come on,’ she tossed her uniform cap onto the bed, ‘let’s go!’

She grabbed Marinette’s hand and started to pull her out of the room.

‘You’re coming, too?’

‘Of course! Adrien never told you where the picnic was. It’s a surprise!’

They both laughed as they ran down the corridor the living quarters were on, but they came to an abrupt stop when they saw Nathaniel stood at the end of the hall.

‘Hey,’ he said with a smile, and his eyes widened when he saw Marinette. ‘W-wow you like a-amazing. Where are you going?’

‘She’s got a hot date!’ Alya said with a giggle.

‘Alya!’

‘Don’t let me stop you,’ he said, the smile fading from his face as he stepped to one side.

He watched as the two giggling girls ran past him. Who on earth could Marinette be seeing? She’d only moved to this area of Paris three days ago. Maybe he should follow them.

…

Alya kept pulling her along as the street lamps were being lit with candles for the night.

‘Where are we going?’ Marinette asked.

‘You’ll see. We’re almost there!’

A moment later, they arrived at the Jardin de la Nouvelle. It wasn’t far from the Seine, but that wasn’t what caught Marinette’s eye. By the small pond in the park was a circle of lit candles that had a picnic basket and blanket in the centre. And stood around the outside of the candles were the knights of the palace, and they all smiled when they saw Marinette.

She smiled back at them, but frowned when she couldn’t see Adrien. ‘Where is he?’

‘I’m here, my lady.’

She turned around and saw Adrien a few metres away from her. He had a soft smile on his face and he had changed into a pair of simple black pants, black boots, and a light blue billowy shirt. And in his hands was a pink rose.

His mouth opened slightly when he saw Marinette. She looked breathtaking. He had never seen her with her hair down, or in a dress like that. And he had never seen anyone look so beautiful, either. He came towards her then and kissed her knuckles. ‘You look divine.’

She blushed and looked away from his eyes, too embarrassed to keep eye contact. ‘So do you,’ she whispered.

‘I got this for you,’ he said, slipping the rose into her hand.

She was about to flinch back, expecting one of the thorns to prick her, but the stem was completely smooth. ‘Where are the thorns?’

Adrien laughed nervously. ‘I snapped them off.’

Marinette’s eyes widened and she grabbed one of Adrien’s hands, seeing that there were tiny cuts in his fingertips. ‘Adrien…’

‘It’s fine. If it’s you, I don’t mind. Now, have you eaten?’

Marinette shook her head and Adrien wrapped his arm around her small waist. ‘Then let’s eat.’ He walked with her into the circle of candles and guided to sit her down on the blanket. He sat opposite her and began to unload the food from the basket. There were different meats and cheeses and vegetables, as well as glass bottles filled with fruit juice.

‘How did you get all of this?’ Marinette asked.

‘Alya sorted it out for me.’

Marinette looked around then, completely having forgotten about her friend and fellow maid as soon as she set eyes on Adrien.

‘She’s fine. She’s with Nino. He’s one of the knights and her sweetheart.’

She nodded, relaxing again, but the blush returned to her face. She was on a date with Adrien. Did that make him her sweetheart? Was the prince even allowed to have a sweetheart? She was getting way ahead of herself. If he wanted her to be that to him, then he would say so.

They started to eat, not talking much, only shyly looking at each other from underneath their eyelashes.

He needed to say something. Why was he acting like this? She was just a girl. A girl who he had fallen hard for and one who he could barely get off his mind. It was no wonder he couldn’t say anything. But he needed to.

‘Your dress is beautiful.’

She looked up with a bright smile, only accentuated by the delicate candlelight. ‘Thank you. It’s the one I made.’

Adrien’s eyes widened. ‘Seriously?! It’s amazing. You’re amazing.’

Marinette blushed but laughed. ‘Thanks. You’re giving me so many compliments.’

‘I can’t help it. I haven’t ever met someone like you. Certainly not someone as beautiful as you, my lady.’

‘Is that the nickname you thought up for me then?’

Adrien nodded with a smile. ‘Definitely. But seeing you in this dress… I think I have another one for you.’

‘Oh? What is it?’

‘Princess.’

Marinette’s entire face went red. ‘A-Adrien… I’m not a princess…’

Adrien put his plate to one side and shuffled so he was closer to Marinette. ‘Look at me, Marinette,’ he whispered.

She shook her head. That nickname only reminded her off what she needed to be. If she was a princess, she could be with Adrien. She wouldn’t have to worry about having to sneak around under King Gabriel’s nose.

‘Marinette,’ he whispered again, but she still didn’t move. What if he saw the tears that were in her eyes?

A moment later, she felt one of Adrien’s soft hands cup her cheek, then he gently turned her head to face him. ‘Please don’t cry,’ he said, his whisper only just louder than his breathing. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you. I just felt like the name suited you.’

‘I know, it’s just…’

‘What is it? You can tell me.’

She met his eyes then. She would just have to come out with it. ‘I really like you, Adrien. But what’s the point of us doing this? Your father won’t ever let us be together.’

She was right, and he knew it, but it wasn’t unheard of. His own mother hadn’t been a prominent royal, and a lot of his cousins had married someone without royal blood. And whilst he was the crown prince of France, and he was expected to marry someone royal, preferably from a different country, to expand France’s land and capital, he was sure that his father would consider letting him marry someone else if that’s what he really wanted.

‘There’s a chance he will.’

She let out a hollow laugh. ‘And how big is that chance? You’re not even supposed to talk to me.’

Adrien closed his eyes for a moment. ‘You’re right, I know. But I want to try. The way I feel about you… for only three days, it’s insane. We have to try. Please.’

There was a moment of silence and Adrien held his breath. _Please don’t say no please don’t say no please don’t-_

‘Okay.’

He looked up with a smile. ‘Thank you, princess.’

She blushed again but didn’t comment on the nickname, just continued to eat.

He stayed sat where he was, right at Marinette’s side, and when they were done eating, he sat facing the river with his princess’ head in his lap. His fingers played with her hair, combing through the silky strands delicately.

‘You should wear your hair like this more often,’ he said.

‘I don’t think I like it this way. I didn’t know what to do with it besides down or up in pigtails.’

‘I’ll have to teach you sometime.’

Marinette raised her eyebrows. ‘How do you know how to do hair?’

‘My mum. Towards the end, she still wanted to look nice, so I would help her.’

Marinette gasped quietly. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.’

He shook his head with a smile. ‘It’s fine. You weren’t to know. Besides, I think she would have quite liked you.’ _And if she was still alive, convincing father to let us be together would be ten times easier._

‘I would have liked her, too.’ Marinette sat up then. ‘Come on, your turn.’

With a smile, Adrien led down and settled his head into Marinette’s lap, humming in content and closing his eyes when he felt her lithe fingers moving across his scalp.

‘You have really soft hair… hey, do you have a crown?’

‘Yeah, but I don’t have to wear it a lot. Only during jousting tournaments and balls and things like that.’

Marinette nodded. ‘I’d like to see you in it. I bet it would look good on you. Everything seems to.’

Adrien opened his eyes and smirked up at the maid. ‘I’ll remember you said that.’

She blushed again and Adrien smiled as he watched her. ‘You’d look beautiful with a tiara on.’

Their eyes met briefly and he saw the smile in them.

‘Maybe I can wear one some day,’ she whispered.

‘Maybe.’ God, he wanted her to.

They stayed a little longer, but then they heard a shriek in the distance. Adrien didn’t know what time it was, but going off that noise, it was probably the time taverns were shutting.

‘Your Highness,’ Kim said as he stepped forwards, ‘I don’t think we should stay here any longer.’

Adrien sighed but sat up. ‘Yeah, you’re right. Let’s blow out the candles.’

The knights did as he said, and Alya grabbed the picnic basket to store the candles inside, along with the blanket.

‘We’ll walk in front,’ Alix said, gesturing to herself and Ivan, ‘then Alya and Nino, then yourself and Marinette, and Kim and Max will go behind you.’

‘At a distance?’ Adrien asked. He still wanted to spend some time with Marinette without jeopardising their safety.

Alix rolled her eyes but nodded. ‘ _Yes._ At a distance.’

Adrien smiled and offered a hand to Marinette. ‘Shall we go, my Lady?’

She slipped her hand into his with a smile, the other hand holding the rose, and they strolled back in formation.

Adrien and Marinette didn’t say much to each other now. They were comfortable to just swing their hands back and forth between them, their hips and shoulders almost touching.

When they made it back to the palace, it was too soon. Adrien didn’t want to say goodbye to Marinette yet. Who knew when he could next be with her? They had to make every moment count.

They came to a stop outside the servant’s quarters, and Alix, Kim, Max, and Ivan left. Nino and Alya stayed, stood off to the side, and Adrien took both of Marinette’s hands in his now.

‘Marinette, you’re so amazing. You have to know how I feel about you by now.’

She smiled. ‘I think I have a pretty good idea.’

‘I know I really should ask your parents, but considering the circumstances… maybe I shouldn’t.’

The maid frowned. ‘Ask them what?’

‘Permission to court you.’

Marinette’s eyes widened and her heart felt like it was a butterfly stuck behind a cage; it was beating so fast against her ribs. ‘A-Adrien!’

‘Is that a no?’

She shook her head quickly. ‘No, but… are you allowed to do that? Court me, I mean.’

‘Of course, I am. So, it that a yes or a no? Don’t leave me waiting, princess.’

Marinette bit her lip. She wanted to say yes. Adrien was kind and wonderful and sweet. But she had thought there was no future for them. And it would be hard, but they _could_ convince King Gabriel to let them be together further down the line. And if they were careful, _extremely_ careful, then Marinette’s parents’ jobs would be safe. What would be the harm in letting the man she liked court her? ‘It’s a yes, Adrien.’

His entire face broke out into a wide bright grin and he kissed her on the cheek. ‘Then I will see you soon.’

He smiled again, then he left her, and Marinette stood there, outside the servant’s quarters, in complete shell shock. Her hand found its way up to her cheek and she had just held it there. Adrien Agreste, crown prince of France, had just kissed her on the cheek after asking to court her. Could it get any better than this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Gabriel discusses the future with Adrien and Chloé.

Adrien had a small smile on his face when he woke up in the morning. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy. The prince rolled over and stared at the sunlight that escaped from around the edge of the curtains. How would Marinette look bathed in morning sunlight, he wondered. His heartbeat sped up just at the thought of her. Would he see her today? He hoped so.

He got out of bed just as there was a knock on the bedroom door.

‘Come in.’

The door opened, and in came Max and Nathaniel, Adrien’s servants.

‘Good morning, Adrien,’ Max said with a smile, but Nathaniel was completely silent. Was there something the matter with him?

Adrien stood up from his bed and went over to his wardrobe, and Max joined him. They picked out his outfit for the day according to his schedule, and Adrien watched Nathaniel in the mirror that was nailed to the inside of the wardrobe door. He made the bed in complete silence, tugging the sheets and plumping the pillows with more violence than necessary. There was definitely something wrong.

‘Max, you can go. Nathaniel, please stay.’

Max left the room and Nathaniel stood by the bed, pointedly staring at the floor. He’d been Adrien’s servant for three years now, and Adrien considered him to be one of his best friends.

‘Nathaniel? Are you okay?’

He shook his head.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I saw you,’ he said. ‘Last night, I saw you. With Marinette.’

Adrien smiled: what was wrong with that? ‘Yeah. So?’

Nathaniel let out a hollow laugh as he looked up at Adrien. ‘So? You’re taking advantage of her and you know it.’

The prince’s eyes widened. ‘I’m not Nathaniel. I wouldn’t do that to anyone, let alone Marinette.’

‘You are and you know full well what you’re doing. What’s the point in courting her, a maid, when you know you’ll ultimately be married off?’

‘I might not be,’ he said, even though he knew Nathaniel was than likely right, but he couldn’t help but want to marry someone he truly liked, someone he could grow to love. Someone like Marinette.

Nathaniel shook his head. ‘You will be and you know it. End it with her, before you break her heart. You’re the crown prince of France. You get everything handed to you, and the price you pay for that is marrying someone you barely know. And then you can let Marinette go so she can be free to be with someone who won’t ever hurt her. Like me.’

Adrien bit the inside of his cheek as he held himself back from being rude. Nathaniel had obviously developed feelings for Marinette. That was the reason he was saying this. And Adrien understood why. She was beautiful and kind and caring. Anyone would fall for her. But he was the one courting Marinette. It was his responsibility to protect her feelings; not Nathaniel’s. ‘I’m not going to hurt her. I don’t plan on ending a courtship. It’s not something _anyone_ enters into lightly.’

‘You should have never asked her.’

There was another knock at the door, and despite the tense atmosphere, Adrien shouted for them to come in.

Nathalie entered a moment later, not seeming to have noticed the tone in the room if her ever-present nonchalant facial expression was anything to go by. ‘Good morning, Adrien. Your schedule has been changed and you will be meeting your father before breakfast.’

Adrien nodded. ‘Thank you.’

Nathaniel and Nathalie left and Adrien got dressed slowly, his mood drastically different to how it was when he woke up. Adrien had always known there was a possibility that he would be married off to a princess or a duchess or a snobby heiress. But once his father saw how happy Marinette made him, then he would let them be together, right? Adrien had no idea. In all honesty, he didn’t know how his father would react to him courting a maid. Ever since his mother died, his father had become cold and closed off. Adrien had barely seen him in the past year. But his father had once been fun and happy, and had even dared to shower his wife with romance in front of the royal court. Once Adrien told his father about how strong his feelings were, he was certain he would understand. But then again… Adrien had only known Marinette for three days. It would be for the best to wait a while before telling his father, to prove the longevity of his feelings for his lovely maid.

Once he was ready, he left his room and quarters, then walked to his father’s chambers. He entered the receiving room without knocking and couldn’t help but shiver as he stepped inside. It was spring and none of the fireplaces in the palace needed to be lit anymore, but his father’s quarters were always cold. The prince wrapped his arms around himself as he perched down on a chaise.

His father’s quarters, in addition to being absolutely freezing, were bigger than his and Chloé’s. The two younger royals had a receiving room, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a closet, whereas the King also had two studies, a billiards room, and a parlour. One of the studies had been his mother’s. No one had been in there this past year.

The door to the receiving room opened, and Adrien looked up, expecting to see Nathalie, but it was Chloé. She smiled at him and practically ran to his side before she perched down next to him.

‘Isn’t this exciting?’ she exclaimed and Adrien eyed her wearingly. She was sitting a little to close to him, and she was also wearing a green dress that seemed very similar to his eye colour: she must have listened to Marinette this morning.

‘What is?’ he asked, brushing away thoughts of his maid.

‘Meeting with your father! He’s going to talk about our futures for certain.’

Adrien tried not to roll his eyes. Talking about the future meant talking about marriage, and he wasn’t ready for that with anyone, including Marinette. ‘Great. Nice dress, by the way.’

‘Thanks. One of my maids picked it out for me.’

‘Alya?’

‘No, my new one. You won’t have met her yet.’

He smirked. ‘What’s she called?’

Chloé looked dumbfounded for a moment. ‘Dupain something? I don’t know. She’s an idiot. She doesn’t deserve for me to know her name.’

He opened his mouth, about to berate her for talking about Marinette like that, but then Nathalie entered the receiving room. She went over to the door that led into his father’s study, knocked twice and opened the door.

‘The king will see you know,’ she said, her face not giving anything away about what this meeting would entail.

Adrien and Chloé got up from the chaise and entered the study together and the prince tried to hold his shivers at bay. The office was even colder than the receiving room had been, and it didn’t help that it was dimly lit. It had always given off a sinister feeling, but Chloé didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

The door shut behind them, presumably by Nathalie, and when it did, Adrien’s father rose from the chair he was sitting in by his desk.

The prince bowed, and Chloé curtsied beside him. His father hadn’t always insisted they did that upon greeting him, especially not Adrien. He was his _son,_ for goodness sake, but things had changed in this past year.

‘What do you need to talk to us about?’ Adrien asked, not giving the king a title of either ‘father’ or ‘your Majesty’.

‘I needed to discuss your futures with you.’

Chloé straightened up beside him and a grin spread across her face. ‘Well, as you can see, Adrien and I make the perfect couple, so I’ll only be too happy to accept your offer of his hand in marriage.’

The king stared at her for a moment and the corner of his mouth rose in a ghost of a smile. ‘Unfortunately, you will not be marrying my son, Chloé. I do believe he sees you as more of a sister than as a wife.’

His father was taking his feelings into account? Wow. That was progress. Maybe this year in almost complete solitude had done him some good.

Chloé pouted. ‘Then who will I be marrying?’

‘Your parents left you with me so that I could look after you and act in your best interests. And I do believe that it is in your best interests for you to find someone who you truly love and who will not squander your family’s fortune.’

‘And I love Adrien and I know he won’t waste my father’s money,’ she argued back.

As much as he disliked her, Adrien had to give it to her: Chloé was afraid of no one, including the king of France.

‘That may be, but Adrien will be marrying a princess from a different country to secure trade deals.’

His eyes widened and his heartbeat picked up. Did his father already have someone in mind? ‘Who?’ he asked, trying not to let the panic show in his voice.

‘I haven’t decided. I wanted you to have some say in it. But the further away the better.’

Adrien held in his sigh of relief. If his father hadn’t picked someone, that meant he could stall this for years. It meant he could develop his relationship – his courtship – with Marinette and convince his father to let him be with her. But it would be considerably harder now that he knew his father wanted a trade deal. Perhaps he could convince his father by telling him that it would improve the reputation of the royal family in the Cour des Miracles? As important as it was to be diplomatic with other countries, it was useless if you weren’t even liked by the people you ruled over.

‘That’s all for now. I just wanted to let you both know. You may go.’ The king sat back down in his chair and started reading over some papers, seeming to have completely forgotten that Adrien and Chloé were still there.

The two left in silence and once they got back out to the main corridor, Chloé huffed in annoyance.

‘I can’t believe we won’t be getting married, Adrikins!’

‘I’m sure you can find someone more suitable for you, Chloé.’

‘But you’re perfect for me! Just you wait, I’ll talk to your father and he’ll let us be together.’

‘Maybe you shouldn’t argue with him about it,’ he said with a sigh. ‘If you anger him, he’ll take your maids off you, and I don’t think you could handle that.’

Chloé tutted. ‘Like I need Césaire and whatever the other one’s called. She’s completely useless!’

Adrien grimaced as he held back from berating Chloé for talking about Marinette like that. ‘Don’t you think you should be a little nicer to your maids? Especially this new one?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Like she needs any special treatment. I’ll see you at breakfast.’ Chloé trudged off and Adrien stared at her retreating back. He needed to come up with a plan to help Marinette in case Chloé got to be too much. But for now, he needed to speak to his Lady before she found out from someone else what his father had spoken to him about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tells Marinette what his father said.

Marinette received a note from Alix just as she finished setting the ornate dining table for lunch. The maid quickly stuffed the note into her apron, and as soon as the table was set, she snuck away to her room to read it.

_Princess,_

_Meet me in the rear palace grounds an hour after sunset._

_A._

Marinette held the note to her chest for a moment and a massive smile spread over her face. She knew what they were doing was risky, and they could both be in a lot of trouble if they were ever caught. It meant a lot to her that he was willing to sneak around and meet her at odd hours so they could spend time together.

She hid the note underneath her pillow, then left and went up to Lady Chloé’s quarters. She wasn’t going to enjoy the name-calling that was bound to ensue, but at least her “date” with Adrien later would give her something to look forward to.

…

Adrien paced back and forth on one of the rear palace garden paths. What was he going to say to Marinette when she got here? Or what if she didn’t come because she’d already heard what his father had spoken to him about? Or-

His thoughts were cut off when he heard a giggle behind him. He turned around and smiled when he saw Marinette. She was still wearing her uniform, minus the white cap, but her beauty still took his breath away.

‘What are you laughing at?’ he asked as she stepped into the circle of his arms.

‘You just looked like you were about to burn a hole in the ground with how furiously you were walking.’

Adrien hummed and cuddled Marinette to his chest. He might not get to do it again depending on how she reacted to what he needed to tell her.

‘What did you have in mind of doing tonight?’ she asked.

‘Actually, I wanted to talk. Let’s sit down.’

They walked over to the nearest metal bench and sat down, their hands intertwined between them.

‘Is everything alright?’ Marinette asked.

‘I…’ Adrien looked down at Marinette’s small hands. ‘My father requested to speak with me this morning.’

‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ she said, knowing how rocky Adrien’s relationship was with his father.

Adrien shrugged. ‘He wanted to talk to me about my future.’

‘I see.’ Marinette knew what that meant.

‘He talked about marriage. He wants me to marry into royalty, preferably somewhere far away. But he has no solid plans as of yet.’

‘I understand,’ Marinette whispered and Adrien looked up to see that there were tears in her eyes.

‘No, no, it’s not like that. Just listen. My father is extremely picky. He won’t find anyone he deems suitable for at least two years. And by then, we’ll be able to be together properly. If I tell him now, he’ll call me immature and not believe my feelings, not to mention fire you and your parents.’

Marinette’s jaw was slack. Adrien wanted to tell his father about them? And he was willing to sneak around like this for two years so he could ultimately be with her. Her heart soared. ‘Adrien…’

‘You are what I want, Marinette. I know it’s only been a short time since we’ve been together, but I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life before. I wouldn’t enter into a courtship with you if my feelings weren’t serious. Which is another thing I want to talk to you about.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Do you think I’m using you?’

Marinette narrowed her eyes. ‘Using me? In what way? What do you mean?’

‘Nathaniel saw us last night, and this morning, he went on and on about how I shouldn’t be with you because I’m just going to end up married off. So he said I should just break it off with you so _he_ can be with you.’

Marinette looked down at her lap. Nathaniel really said that? He seemed so kind and quiet. But she didn’t know him all that well.

‘I was so angry with him. I just wanted to…’ Adrien squeezed Marinette’s hands. He didn’t want to tell her how he really felt about what Nathaniel said. ‘You’re my sweetheart, not his. It’s up to me to protect your feelings.’

She looked back up at him. ‘I’m your sweetheart?’

He smiled. ‘Of course. You’re my sweetheart, my lady, my princess. My everything.’

Marinette giggled as she curled up on the bench, then leant her head on her prince’s shoulder. ‘Good.’

‘So, you don’t think I’m taking advantage of you?’

‘You could never do a thing like that, Adrien.’

He turned to look at her. Her chin was perched on his shoulder, her wide blue eyes were illuminated by the candle–lit lampposts outside of the palace gardens, and she was staring up at him through her eyelashes. She was so beautiful. He wanted to kiss her.

Slowly, he reached up with one of his hands and carefully caressed the side of her face. ‘Can I kiss you?’

She withdrew her chin from his shoulder and seemed to be deep in thought for a moment before a blush overcame her face. ‘Yes,’ she whispered.

He leant in, slowly, so as not to scare her, then lightly kissed Marinette on the lips. It wasn’t deep or passionate, it was innocent and chaste and sweet. Exactly how a first kiss should be for a girl like Marinette.

He pulled away and rested his forehead against Marinette’s and he watched her expression carefully. Her eyes were wide and her lips parted in semblance of a gasp, but she was still managing to smile.

They sat there together for a while longer in silence, just cuddled against each other, before Adrien stood up. ‘Come on. Let’s get you back. I don’t want Nathaniel to pop out of somewhere and accuse me of stealing your innocence.’

Marinette pouted as she got off the bench. ‘When will I see you again?’

Adrien sighed and wrapped an arm around his lady’s waist. ‘I don’t know. Hopefully tomorrow, but I can’t make any promises. I’ll have one of my knights give you a note if it’s possible.’

She nodded and they walked around the side of the palace to the servants’ quarters. They approached the entrance where they stopped, their hands brushing together slightly.

‘Please try and see me tomorrow, Adrien…’ Marinette whispered, and the prince nodded.

‘I’ll do everything in my power to try, princess.’ He kissed her again, his lips lingering for a moment longer than the time before, then he pressed another kiss to her forehead. ‘Good night, my lady.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien comforts Marinette.

Marinette had a dopey smile on her face as she arranged some fresh daffodils and tulips in a vase atop Lady Chloé’s mahogany dresser. Alya and Lady Chloé were some way behind her, the King’s ward complaining to her other maid about not being able to marry Adrien as Alya did up her corset.

_Adrien._

Her smile widened. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Adrien after last night. Not only because of what he had said, but because of their kiss. She had never been the kind of girl who would wonder and pine for when their first kiss would happen. But now it had happened, Marinette found her mind drifting off at random moments, and her hand unconsciously finding it’s way to her lips in every quiet second. She didn’t know when they would next see each other, but she definitely wanted to kiss him again when she did.

‘Marinette,’ Alya asked, ‘can you grab Lady Chloé’s dress from the bed?’

‘Of course,’ Marinette turned around, about to head towards the bed, but she hadn’t noticed that her apron was stuck underneath the vase. As she turned, the vase toppled over. The porcelain smashed on the marble floor, and water went absolutely everywhere.

Before Marinette could even begin to apologise, Chloé was on her, her glare piercing. ‘What the hell, Dupain-Cheng?! What’s wrong with you?! Why can’t you do anything right?! You can’t pick the right dress, the right flowers, the right shoes. And now you’ve done this. Get out of my sight. You’re fired, Dupain-Cheng.’

Alya started trying to defend her, but Marinette didn’t stay to hear it. She ran from the room, then dashed across the palace and into the library. She jogged down between the bookcases, then down the stone steps that led to her and Adrien’s room.

He wasn’t in there and the fire wasn’t burning either. She went in anyway and knelt on the floor. As soon as her knees came into contact with the rug, she began to cry. What had she done? If she hadn’t been so clumsy… she sobbed and wrapped her arms around herself. What was she going to tell her parents? They were going to be so disappointed in her. Not to mention she would no longer be allowed to live in the palace. Where was she supposed to go?

…

Adrien ambled through the library, browsing the bookcases to find books that were easy to read. He knew his girlfriend would be busy until late tonight. Every few weeks, Chloé tried on everything in her closet and decided what was in and what was out. It took all day, and Marinette would be tired, so Adrien knew he wouldn’t see her until tomorrow at the earliest. But it gave him some time to plan their next date. He wanted to help her with her reading more, but it would have to be in their library room. It was forecast to rain for the next few days, but it didn’t matter. As long as the fire was lit, the room would be warm and cosy. And it would only be amplified if he added more pillows and blankets. They could cuddle up together and that might result in more kissing.

He smiled as he remembered their kiss from last night. Marinette was so wonderful.

He grabbed a few books, then he ambled down the stairs into the partially hidden library room. But he dropped the books when he saw his princess sat on the stone floor, shivering from the cold and her body wracked with sobs.

‘Marinette!’

He ran to her and immediately gathered her into his arms. ‘Oh, darling, you’re freezing. How long have you been down here?’

She hiccupped. ‘I-I don’t know.’

‘Here, let’s get you sat on the settee, I’ll start a fire, then we’ll talk, okay?’

Marinette nodded and Adrien helped her to stand and guided his sweetheart over to the settee. Once she was settled, he started the fire, then he returned to her side and brought her into his arms once more.

‘What happened?’ he asked when he felt her warm up a little.

‘C-Chloé. I-I smashed a vase. It was my fault, I know it was. There’s no one else to blame. But then she started being rude and shouting at me. T-then she fired me.’

Adrien held her tighter. ‘It’s fine. She fires Alya every two months. She doesn’t mean it. It’s just what Chloé’s like. I’ll go and talk to her and get your job back for you.’

Marinette began to cry harder then. She had to stay at the palace, for her parents, for Adrien, but she couldn’t work for Chloé. She’d been here less than a week and the verbal abuse she received daily from Lady Chloé was too much for her to handle. ‘A-Adrien…’ she hiccupped and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

‘Not Chloé?’

‘I-I… I have to, though. I can’t leave.’

‘And you can’t work under her anymore.’

‘But where I will work instead?’

Adrien bit his lip. Marinette could work under him. But his father would never allow it. But maybe he could convince Nathalie. She wasn’t as strict or cold as she liked everyone to think. ‘Leave it with me. I’ll solve it for you.’

‘But what if someone finds out about us by you doing that?’

He bit his lip. He hadn’t thought about that. But he would find a way. He had to. ‘It’s fine. Leave it with me. I’ll sort it all out.’ He pressed another kiss to the top of her head. She felt so small and vulnerable crying in his arms like this. When he had first met her, she had seemed shy but strong. But working under someone like Chloé, even for only a week, would be enough to break anyone. But if Marinette worked under him, he could protect her sanity and make sure she didn’t have to work too hard. Not to mention he could see her more. He would solve this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien helps Marinette.

After consoling Marinette for an hour and promising her that everything would be okay, he walked her back to the servant quarters’ entrance, then he headed upstairs to talk to Nathalie.

His father wouldn’t care about Chloé verbally abusing her servants, and whilst Nathalie wouldn’t either, she would be more likely to help him. Or she’d just get incredibly suspicious and fire Marinette properly. But he had to try. He didn’t want his princess to work under Chloé a moment longer.

He found Nathalie in her office just outside his father’s quarters, writing a draft speech. She gave him a small smile when he entered.

‘Hello, Adrien. How can I help you?’

‘Well, I’m not one hundred percent sure you can help me, but I thought I’d give it a try.’

Nathalie put her quill in the ink pot and gave the prince her full attention. ‘What is it?’

‘I’m sure you’re aware of how Chloé treats her servants.’

‘I am.’

‘Well, this morning, she was particularly cruel, and I found one of her maids, I believe her name is Marinette, crying. She told me that Chloé fired her, and she was particularly worried as her parents are employed as pastry chefs in the palace. I was wondering if she could perhaps serve in my quarters instead.’

Nathalie hummed. ‘You know the rules, Adrien. No girls are allowed in your quarters. I know you wouldn’t do anything, but it’s just to avoid scandals.’

‘I understand that, but is there no way an exception can be made? As you said, you know I wouldn’t do something like that.’ He tried to keep a straight face as he spoke.

She drummed her fingers on the desk. ‘She could perhaps be your cleaning maid, as long as you are not present in your quarters at the same time. Is that alright?’

Adrien smiled in relief. He was afraid that she would just outright say no. This was better than nothing. And he was sure they could bend the rules a little. ‘That’s perfect.’

‘I’ll arrange for her new duties to start tomorrow morning.’

‘Is it okay if I go and tell her?’ he asked, trying not to sound too enthusiastic. ‘She was very upset before.’

‘Of course. I’m sure she’ll be happy to know.’

‘Thank you, Nathalie.’

She gave him another smile, and once he’d walked out of his father’s quarters, he practically skipped down the stairs and along the bottom corridor to the servant’s quarters. He hadn’t wanted Marinette to go through this with Chloé, but at least this was an outcome favourable to everyone. And they could spend more time together, too.

He ran down the stairs and came to a stop in the kitchen as he realised he’d never been in the servant’s quarters before. Where would he find Marinette?

‘Excuse me?’ he said, feeling bad that he was interrupting their busy lunch preparations.

All of the chefs turned to look at him, stopping whatever they were doing and their eyes wide.

‘Sorry to disturb you all, I know you all work incredibly hard, but I was just wondering if any of you could tell me where Marinette Dupain-Cheng is?’

‘She’s in the dining room,’ Head Chef Césaire said, one of the only palace cooks Adrien knew.

‘Where’s that?’

She pointed to the door on the right and Adrien smiled.

‘Thank you.’

The chefs continued with their work as he went into the dining room, and he spotted Marinette straight away. She was sat at the table, her shoulders slumped, but her eyes widened and she sat up straight when she saw Adrien.

‘Adri- Your Highness!’ She stood up and bowed, and his face dropped for a moment, but he quickly realised that he was stood in a room full of servants. They would definitely get suspicious if Marinette called him by his first name then ran into his arms.

‘Hi. U-ummm…’ How was he supposed to address her here? He spoke to a lot of the servants regularly, but he had never courted one of them before. He had suddenly forgotten how to speak to Marinette like a normal human being.

‘Did you need something from me?’ she asked and Adrien snapped back into action.

‘Yes. Well, no, actually. I went to speak with Nathalie and she has approved a transfer for you from Lady Chloé’s quarters to mine. You will be my cleaning maid. But only when I am absent from the room, of course.’

Marinette smiled and stood up so she could curtsey. ‘Thank you so much for sorting this out for me, your Highness.’

‘And thank you from us, too, Prince Adrien.’

The blond man managed to tear his eyes off Marinette and saw that she had been sat with two adults, both of whom looked slightly like her, and his eyes widened. This was _not_ how he had planned on meeting Marinette’s parents. Well, he hadn’t planned anything for it yet, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

‘We were so worried about her since we work here, too.’

‘Ah, yes, I believe you are our new pastry chefs?’

Marinette’s dad grinned. ‘That’s right! Are you enjoying our food, your Highness?’

‘Definitely. The best croissants I’ve ever tasted.’

‘Then we’ll be sure to make extra for you in the mornings,’ Marinette’s mum added. ‘That’s the least we can do to thank you for getting a job for our daughter. And thank you for being so kind for coming all the down here to tell her the good news.’

‘It’s no problem, really. I couldn’t let a girl as sweet and wonderful as Marinette be thrown out of the palace. I’m sure she’ll do a great job tomorrow when she starts her new position.’ He looked over at Marinette and smiled when he saw that she had gone bright pink as she watched him chat with her parents. ‘Unfortunately, I have to be going now. I have to prepare for fencing after lunch with my knights. I’ll see you tomorrow, Marinette. Or rather, I won’t. Since I’m not allowed to be in my quarters when you’re there, but… yeah. Goodbye. And it was lovely to meet you, Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng.’

‘You, too, your Highness.’

Tom bowed and Sabine and Marinette curtsied as he left the room, and once they were sure the prince was out of earshot, the two adults turned to look at their daughter.

‘I didn’t know you knew Prince Adrien.’

‘I-I don’t! He’s said h-hi to me a couple of times, and then he found me crying earlier, but we don’t _know_ each other.’ She wanted to tell her parents about them. She really did. But Alya and all of the knights knew. That was more than enough. If anyone else found out, Adrien and Marinette would get into trouble for sure.

Her mum hummed. ‘If you say so. But I’ll be watching very closely the next time I see you two together.’

Marinette’s blush darkened and Tom chuckled. ‘Come on, dear. Let’s help with the food preparations.’

He led his wife into the kitchen and Marinette sat back down. She couldn’t believe Adrien had actually come into the servant’s quarters. But it was sweet of him to come and tell her the good news. And she had a feeling he wasn’t going to abide by the rules of not being in his quarters at the same time as her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette starts her job cleaning Adrien's quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I was away on holiday, but the next chapter is almost done, so there will be another update in about a week! :D

The next morning, Adrien got up an hour earlier than necessary to tidy his room. He wasn’t a messy prince by any means, since he generally didn’t like the palace staff to do more work than they needed to, nor did he want Marinette to have to either. He knew this was her job, but he was courting her. He couldn’t treat her just like any other member of staff.

He tidied up as much as he could, then he went into the bathroom to retrieve a bunch of pink roses that had been resting in the sink overnight. Adrien had known that he wouldn’t have had time to buy them this morning, so he’d been out to the market yesterday afternoon.

_‘Do you really think you should be out alone?’ Tikki asked, in the process of packing up for the day, throwing water from buckets void of flowers onto the cobbles._

_Adrien smiled. ‘No one knows who I am besides you and Plagg.’_

_The owner of the cheese stall snickered. ‘I wouldn’t trust me to keep your royal secret.’_

_The prince rolled his eyes and he glanced over at what Tikki had left. There wasn’t a massive selection, but enough. ‘Can I have a bouquet of a dozen pink roses and some baby’s breath?’_

_Tikki nodded and began to make it up. ‘Who are these for? That lovely lady you were with last time?’_

_‘Actually, yes, they are.’_

_The flower stall owner grinned. ‘You’re so cute together! Let me know when the wedding is and I’ll do the flowers for it.’_

_Adrien blushed, about to tell Tikki that they nowhere near to get married yet, but he couldn’t but help imagine Marinette_ _in a wedding dress now that she had said that. ‘I-I’ll let you know.’_

_Plagg strolled over from his stall. ‘And will your Lady be requiring some cheese? Maybe some camembert? I have loads left over.’_

_‘Is it any wonder?’ Adrien muttered._

_‘Here you go.’ Tikki handed him the bouquet._

_‘Thank you. How much do I owe you?’_

_‘Nothing. You can have it for free.’_

_‘I can pay you.’_

_‘I know,’ she said with a smile. ‘But the flowers will die soon. I was only going to take the extra ones to the Cour des Miracles.’_

_‘Thank you.’ Adrien smiled, then retreated back to the palace._

He didn’t know what kinds of flowers Marinette liked, if any at all, but they would hopefully make up for what Chloé said to her yesterday. As well as the world’s most awkward first meeting with her parents. He didn’t think it went badly, but it definitely could have gone better. Usually, he would be more prepared for a meeting like that. And he would be next time.

Adrien placed the bouquet on the bed, then crouched down out of sight around the other side of the bed. If Nathalie thought that he would obey her rule about not being in his quarters at the same time as Marinette, then she had another thing coming.

…

Marinette entered Adrien’s quarters with a bright smile on her face. She knew she wouldn’t get to see her boyfriend during this job, but cleaning Adrien’s quarters would be ten times better than cleaning Chloé’s rooms.

It was laid out the same as Chloé’s, except it looked more cosy and lived-in. It reminded Marinette of him. She always felt cosy and comfortable when she was with him.

She entered his bedroom and her smile widened when she saw the bouquet of roses on the bed. He just couldn’t help himself, could he? She went over to the bouquet and squinted as she attempted to read the note placed next to them.

‘F… o… r… fo… for? For… M-a-r-i-n… For Marinette?’

‘Your reading is really coming along.’

Marinette jumped at the sound of Adrien’s voice, then she smiled when she saw that he was stood at the other side of the bed. ‘Adrien? What are you doing in here?! We’re not allowed to be in your quarters together.’

Adrien chuckled as he walked around to Marinette’s side of the bed. ‘Did you honestly think I was going to obey that rule? Besides, I know where all of the palace staff are at all times. No one comes near my quarters until after lunch.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Positive. I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t certain we wouldn’t be caught. Do you like your flowers?’

‘I love them. Thank you. They’re beautiful.’

‘Not as beautiful as you,’ Adrien said as he rested his hands on Marinette’s waist.

She blushed. ‘Stop complimenting me. I do actually have a job to do.’

Adrien shook his head. ‘You don’t. I already did that for you.’

Marinette smiled and placed her hands on the prince’s chest. ‘Then what do you propose we do instead?’

‘I have a few ideas.’

‘Oh, really?’ Marinette asked with a giggle.

‘But first, I’m anxious to know: what did your parents think of me?’

Marinette smiled and absentmindedly fiddled with the collar of Adrien’s shirt. ‘They really liked you, don’t worry. But they’re not stupid. They’ve already guessed that I like you.’

Adrien nodded. ‘Thank god, I was afraid they’d never let me see you again.’ He caressed the side of her face. ‘Afraid I’d never get to kiss you again.’

Marinette pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Adrien’s. They stayed stood up like that, kissing slowly and sweetly, their hands roaming over each other slightly, but not going too far. Marinette’s heart already felt like it was going to beat out of her chest every time Adrien looked at her. She wouldn’t be able to handle it if he touched her anymore than he was doing now.

Adrien pulled out of the kiss and brushed his nose against Marinette’s. ‘Be mine?’

‘Forever.’

Both teenagers smiled and kissed again, but were interrupted when the door to Adrien’s bedroom opened.

‘Adrien, you-’

The two teenagers sprung apart and both looked towards the door.

Nathaniel was stood in the doorframe, looking very angry. ‘Marinette, get out of here.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t tell her what to do. She’s supposed to be in here.’

Nathaniel let out a hollow laugh. ‘And you’re not. You shouldn’t even be together. I told you to call it off. Marinette deserves to be with someone she can actually _be_ with.’

‘What is he talking about?’ Marinette asked.

‘Just ignore him.’ Adrien wrapped an arm around his lady’s waist and brought her to stand against his chest. ‘What did you need, Nathaniel?’

The redhead glared at Adrien. ‘Nathalie asked me to fetch you. She wants to know what colours you want for your tent for the sword fighting tournament in a few months. But it’s not urgent. I can you’re very busy.’ He left then, slamming the door behind him.

‘Adrien?’ Marinette whispered. ‘Is he still angry?’

The blond prince nodded, still cuddling her against his chest. ‘I understand why. When he first told me that, he went on and on about how I don’t deserve to court you because I get everything handed to me and that as payment, I shouldn’t be allowed to marry for love.’

Marinette lifted her head out of Adrien’s chest. ‘He really said that?’

‘Yeah. But he was just angry because he wanted to be with you. Which is understandable. You’re gorgeous and kind and wonderful. I’m not letting you go.’

‘Even if your father arranges a marriage for you?’ the maid asked, her voice full of nerves. She knew it would be hard for Adrien to defy his father if that happened.

‘Even then,’ Adrien said, defiant. ‘I’m serious. He will _not_ stop us from being together. Come here.’

He brought her against his chest again and held her there tightly. He wasn’t letting Marinette go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Marinette's birthday.

Adrien stood to the left of his bedroom door with a smirk on his face – it had been three months since he and Marinette had begun courting, and every single morning since she had been assigned as his maid, he had waited in his quarters for her.

They were still sneaking around the palace with each other, meeting whenever they could, whispering and kissing in dark corners. Marinette had become more confident in herself, and so had Adrien, but for a different reason. His father hadn’t mentioned marriage for three months now, meaning Adrien’s prediction had been correct. His father was far too picky to be able to pick a bride who he deemed suitable for his son. If he and Marinette could keep this secret for only a few months more, perhaps until his birthday, then maybe they could consider telling his father.

But for right now, Adrien put all of that in the back of his mind. He had something much more pressing to deal with today: it was his Lady’s birthday.

His bedroom door opened then and Marinette entered the room. She was looking as gorgeous as ever in her knee length black maid uniform and frilly white apron, but instead of her signature pigtails, her silky black hair was up in a bun and her white cap was tied to the front of it. It was adorable.

She stepped further into the room, peering around slightly. ‘Adrien?’

He tiptoed over to her, and once he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

She squeaked, but Adrien chuckled. ‘Good morning, princess.’

‘You scared me,’ she whispered as she turned around in the circle of his arms. When their eyes met, Adrien saw hers were filled with fright and he held her tighter.

‘I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t mean to. You’re just too cute.’

Marinette pouted. ‘I’ll let you off since you’re the prince.’

‘Not because I’m your sweetheart?’

She shook her head as a smile returned to her face. ‘Nope.’

‘Well, if I’m just a prince to you, then I guess you won’t want any kisses from me,’ he said with a smirk, but it was soon wiped off his face when Marinette rose up onto her tiptoes and kissed him.

He eagerly responded, and a moment later Adrien guided them over to the bed. Without breaking for air, he sat down, bringing Marinette to sit on his lap, and they carried on kissing. Her hands were resting on his neck and shoulders, and his were on her thighs. They both wanted to take things further, if only by a little, but they didn’t dare.

They both pulled away then, breathless, but Adrien pressed his mouth to his maid’s neck. It was so slender, and the way she had worn her hair today only served to remind him of that.

‘No marks, Adrien,’ she murmured, one of her hands now in his hair.

He sighed as he nodded. ‘I know. I wish I could, though.’

‘Me, too.’

He withdrew his head from her neck to let their eyes meet. ‘I wish we could go away for a few days to a country where no one knows who I am. We would wander around together without needing to hide how we feel about each other. And we could leave as many marks on each other as we liked.’

Marinette blushed but gave him a small smile. ‘We’d have to stay longer to make sure they would fade for when we came back to Paris. Besides, as lovely as the idea is, you know we’d get caught.

Adrien nodded: she was always right. ‘Just a couple more months, and then maybe we can tell my father. I’m so grateful that you agreed to sneak around with me like this. Heck, I’m so grateful that you’re even with me. I don’t deserve you.’

Marinette’s beautiful bluebell eyes widened. ‘No, I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.’

Adrien chuckled. ‘Let’s just agree to disagree, my lady.’ They met in another brief kiss. ‘By the way, why is your hair like this?’

Marinette smiled. ‘Do you like it? Alya did it for me. She couldn’t afford to get me a birthday present, so she did my hair for me instead.’

Adrien nodded, trying not to let guilt show on his facial expression. They really needed to pay the staff who worked at the palace a lot more. ‘I love it. But speaking of which, it’s time for your present from me.’

‘You got me something?’

‘You sound surprised. Why wouldn’t I have got you a present? You’re my sweetheart.’

‘You didn’t need to. Just getting me this job in your quarters is more than enough. I’m so happy to be coming here everyday, even if there isn’t much work for me to do.’

Adrien smiled. He had kept his room and the rest of his quarters relatively tidy ever since Marinette had been assigned here. Other than needing to give everything an occasional dust, she was really not needed. Not that he would tell Nathalie that. ‘Well, I wanted to. And before you ask, no, I didn’t spend a fortune on it. Come on.’

They both stood up and Adrien took Marinette’s hand and led her out of his bedroom and into his receiving room. They didn’t go very far, as a moment later, Adrien pulled Marinette into his closet.

It was like Chloé’s had been: two rails on each side of the room, filled with gorgeous clothes. Except in the ceiling between them was a square-shaped hole with a wooden ladder propped against it.

‘Come on. It’s up here.’ Adrien let go of her hand so he could grab a lit lantern that was on the floor, then he climbed up the ladder.

Marinette followed him up, and when she reached the top, she gasped. Not that far from the opening, lit up by Adrien’s lantern, was a sewing machine.

‘Adrien…’ She walked over to it slowly. ‘This must have cost… you said you didn’t spend a fortune.’

‘I didn’t. I told you my mum liked to sew, right? She preferred cross-stitch and embroidery, but she did a bit of dress making, too. She wasn’t great at it, to be honest, and when the sewing machine broke, she stopped altogether. I paid for it to be fixed in time for your birthday. You know you can come into my quarters at any time, so you can come into sew whenever you want. And the attic is split into sections, so no one will find you up here, and…’ He trailed off when he saw that Marinette’s eyes had filled with tears. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I can’t accept this, Adrien. It was your mother’s.’

The prince quickly placed the lantern on the floor and gently cupped Marinette’s face in his hands. ‘No, you can. She wouldn’t have minded, Marinette. She would have loved you.’

‘But if your father finds out-’

‘He won’t. Not until _we’re_ ready to tell him. Okay? Will you accept my gift to you?’

Marinette bit her lip. ‘Are you sure it’s okay?’

‘I wouldn’t have offered it if it wasn’t okay, princess.’

She blushed at the nickname. ‘I-I accept.’

‘Then happy birthday, Marinette.’

They met in a kiss then, but Marinette pulled away quickly, finding that she was shaking. ‘Are you really sure I can have this?’

‘I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t. Besides, since this hardly cost anything, I have money left to buy you material.’

‘Adrien…’

‘Let me do this for you, my Lady.’

‘B-but when it’s your birthday, how can I ever repay you?’

Adrien shook his head with a smile. ‘As long as I get to spend the whole day with you, then that’s repayment enough. Is that okay with you?’

Marinette gave him a timid smile and a small nod.

‘Good. Go and wait for me outside the back palace gates?’

‘Okay.’ They shared another kiss, then Marinette climbed back down the ladders.

…

They chatted amicably as they walked to the market, and their hands swung between them, occasionally brushing. Adrien really wanted to just reach out and hold Marinette’s in his. He could do it. She would let him. He’d done it plenty of times before when they had strolled around the palace grounds at night. But they couldn’t out here. Whilst nobody knew who Adrien was, all of the palace staff did, and if any of them were out and saw him holding hands with a maid, they’d be done for.

They reached the market then and Adrien steered Marinette towards the stalls that sold all the cloth. There were so many different colours and textures and materials to choose from, and Marinette was struggling to take them all in.

She looked up at Adrien then, a shy expression on her face. ‘H-how much am I allowed to get?’

‘I guess it depends what you want to make.’

‘A-a dress?’

Adrien smiled and resisted the urge to wrap his arm around Marinette’s waist. ‘Are you asking or telling me?’

‘Telling.’

‘And what colour would my princess like her dress to be?’

Marinette blushed. ‘Pink.’

Adrien nodded and steered her over to where all of the pink material was. ‘Take your pick then.’

Marinette gingerly stepped forwards and looked at all of the bolts before she finally pointed to one. It was cotton and a beautiful baby pink colour. Marinette would look beautiful in it.

Adrien picked it up. ‘Any more fabric?’

She shook her head.

‘You can have more. Now you’ve got a sewing machine, you can make things whenever you want.’

Marinette bit her lip and looked back over at the material. ‘Then… this one, too? If that’s alright?’ It was still pink, but a few shades darker, and silkier.

‘What’s it for?’

‘I need to make a new nightgown.’

Adrien nodded and took the bolt. ‘As long as I get to see you in it one day,’ he said with a wink, and Marinette’s entire face went bright red.

He chuckled and got five metres of each fabric cut, then along with some new needles, a pincushion, and two different shades of pink thread to match the material, he paid for everything with still some to spare.

‘Come on, flowers next,’ he said as he walked in the direction of Tikki’s stall.

‘Adrien,’ Marinette whispered as she tugged lightly on his arm. ‘You really don’t have to do all of this for me.’

‘I know. I do it because I want to.’ He resisted the urge to place a kiss on her head and they continued through the market to where Tikki and Plagg’s stalls were.

Plagg wasn’t around, but Tikki was there, arranging her flowers in the different metal buckets, and a big smile stretched across her face when she saw Adrien and Marinette.

‘Hey! I see you two are getting along well.’

Both of them blushed. ‘Thanks, Tikki,’ Adrien said with a shake of his head. ‘It’s actually Marinette’s birthday today.’

Tikki gasped. ‘Then pick whatever you like.’

Marinette peered over all of the flowers before pointing to some baby’s breath and purple daisies.

Adrien handed Tikki the money and she quickly scooped up the chosen flowers into a bouquet. ‘Happy birthday, Marinette,’ she said as she handed them to the maid.

‘Thank you.’

They walked away from the stall then, back in the direction of the palace.

‘Are you having a birthday cake tonight?’ Adrien asked.

‘Yeah. My parents are making it. I would save you a slice, but it’ll be very small.’

‘It’s fine. It just means we’ll have to go for cake now.’

Marinette giggled and pulled Adrien to stand at the side of the street. ‘In a minute.’ She pulled flowers out of the bouquet and placed them in her hair and in his, then they looked at their reflections in a nearby puddle. They looked a little silly, but Adrien wouldn’t have had it any other way.

With a loud laugh, he slung an arm around Marinette’s waist and he walked them in the direction of the nearest patisserie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien help each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just fluff, not much plot! :3

‘Pin these two back panels right sides together along the left side seam,’ Marinette said as she pointed to two pieces of pink cloth.

Adrien nodded and got to work straight away. He knelt on the attic floor and did as his sweetheart had told him, but every so often, he glanced over at her. She was knelt on the floor, too, cutting out more pattern pieces. She had a small smile on her face and was humming quietly to herself. She looked so pretty when she was concentrating.

‘Done,’ Adrien said and Marinette came over.

‘It’s good. I’ll sew it.’ She grabbed the pieces and went over to the sewing machine, but Adrien followed and sat down in the chair before she could.

Marinette just rolled her eyes. ‘My feet won’t be able to reach the pedal from your lap.’

‘That’s fine. I’ll push the pedal for you.’

Marinette giggled but relented and sat down on Adrien’s lap. ‘You’ll have to slow down the motion when I get to a pin.’

‘Don’t worry, I will.’ He rested his head on Marinette’s shoulder and watched as she sewed the two back panels together, and each time she took a pin out, Adrien kissed her on the cheek.

‘You’re very distracting,’ she murmured.

‘I’m not here to help you concentrate, princess.’ He kissed her on the cheek again and wrapped his arms around her waist as he watched her work. He hadn’t ever seen her like this before, with her bottom lip stuck out in concentration. It was cute, and she was kind and clever and caring and altogether thoroughly _beautiful._ He was falling in love with her.

…

On top of her cleaning duties, which were essentially non-existent now, Marinette had to be there whenever Adrien trained with his knights to give him water and a towel.

He was fully capable of doing those two small tasks himself, something which he’d told Marinette, but she couldn’t skip this like she did her cleaning duties. The knights trained outside, so it would be pretty obvious if Marinette wasn’t fulfilling her responsibilities.

Besides, she liked taking care of Adrien this way. He always looked after her to a point that it made her feel bad that he wouldn’t let her do the same for him. This way, she could return the favour.

She watched from the edge of the grass, towel in hand, observing and admiring Adrien as he fought.

He was up against Kim, who was quite considerably taller than Adrien, but her sweetheart was still winning. He was fast, ducking under Kim’s arms and around him after each parry and block. He was amazing.

With one quick flick of his wrist, Adrien disarmed Kim and the other knights clapped.

Adrien and Kim shook hands, then with a smile, Adrien strolled over to his maid.

‘Enjoy it?’ he asked as Marinette wiped away the sweat from his face.

‘Yes. You’re extremely good.’

‘Thank you,’ he said with a cocky smile on his face.

Marinette rolled her eyes. ‘Did you need some water?’ she asked, still dabbing at Adrien’s forehead even though there was no sweat left, but she just wanted to be close to him.

‘No, I’m okay for now. Thank you for taking care of me, princess.’

‘I don’t mind. You always do the same for me.’

They shared a smile then Adrien was called back to fight. He was against Nino this time, but Marinette couldn’t take her eyes off her sweetheart. He was so swift and strong. Marinette didn’t know how he made it look so easy when he had a million other responsibilities as the crown prince. But he handled it all with grace and still had time for her every day. He was amazing. She was falling in love with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel announces the sword fighting tournament.

Adrien tried not to smile as he sat on his throne. The throne room was a little dingy like always, even with all of the palace staff and courtesans packed in, but it seemed a little brighter with Marinette in here. She was pressed against the wall and they kept staring at each other, sharing shy smiles and furtive glances across the room.

The whole room quietened down then as King Gabriel entered. The crowd parted and Adrien schooled his facial expression and forced himself to look away from Marinette and towards his father.

He was frowning as he advanced towards the other throne, and as he sat down, the servants and the courtesans bowed.

The King cleared his throat. ‘As you all know, the annual sword fighting tournament that the French royal family hosts is coming up in two weeks at the Palace of Versailles. My son, Crown Prince Adrien, will be our champion, along with his knights. We will travel down shortly before the event, and mine, Adrien’s, and Lady Chloé’s personal servants shall be travelling with us, as well as other members of staff and select courtesans. I hope this event will be fruitful in terms of our inevitable victory and… _other_ things that I have planned.’

Gabriel glanced back at his son then and Adrien just nodded. He’d won the tournament every single year he’d been old enough to compete in it, but what else did his father have planned? It was no use even trying to think about: his father was impossible to decipher. Even his mum had been unable to work out what he was thinking.

The King stood up and left the room, all of the staff and courtesans trailing behind him, but Adrien stayed sat on his throne. There was one thing for certain, though: he had to win the tournament again this year, which meant it was time for more practice.

…

‘Don’t you think you’re doing a little too much?’ Marinette asked as Adrien fell to his knees on the grass.

It was nearing midnight and there were only a few days left until the start of the tournament. Ever since his father’s announcement, Adrien had practiced every day with his knights, then every night with a wooden dummy outside with Marinette watching him. It was exhausting him, but he had to win this. He didn’t care much for trying to impress his father anymore, but sword fighting was something he enjoyed doing that wasn’t essential to his role as prince. Anything that got him away from that title and towards normalcy was a blessing.

Adrien shook his head as he rose from the grass. He left his sword on the ground and stumbled over to where Marinette was sat on one of the palace benches, lit by several lanterns.

‘Are you sure? You’re exhausted, Adrien,’ she said as she wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel.

The prince gave her a tired smile. ‘I do this every year for it. I kind of enjoy it, actually. I have no excuse any other time of year to push myself like this.’

Marinette kissed him on the cheek. ‘You can push yourself in whatever you want without needing an excuse.’

‘Thank you, princess.’ He took the towel from her. ‘Do you mind if I take off my shirt? I’m getting a bit hot and I want to train for a while longer yet.’

Marinette blushed and averted her gaze. ‘O-of course. It’s your practice. Do what you like.’

‘Thanks.’ He pulled his black shirt over his head, then wiped away the sweat that had gathered on his skin and between his muscles. He stood back up then, but turned to glance back at Marinette when he was halfway to the wooden dummy.

She had been watching him attentively before, but now she was staring pointedly down at her lap.

With a smirk, Adrien strolled back over to her and stopped when his knees hit hers. ‘Marinette?’

‘Yes?’

‘Look at me.’

She shook her head.

‘As the Crown Prince of France, I order you to look at me.’

She did as he asked then, but her eyes darted straight up to meet his without straying anywhere else.

‘You can look, you know,’ he said. ‘At my chest, I mean.’

Marinette bit her lip. ‘Am I really allowed?’

Adrien nodded and Marinette’s eyes slowly drifted downwards. She started to blush again, but she didn’t look away.

He took one of her hands then and held it to his chest where she could feel his heartbeat. They both smiled.

‘Do you feel it?’

Marinette nodded. ‘Mine goes that quickly whenever I’m with you, too.’

Adrien grinned and kissed Marinette on the top of her head. ‘I’m glad, princess.’ He withdrew then, taking a step backwards towards the wooden dummy. ‘Don’t take your eyes off me.’

‘I won’t.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien, Marinette, and everyone else travels to Versailles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the setting described in this, think 'A Knight's Tale', or 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'. I'm not sure I really described it well, largely because the set up for jousting is a little bit odd.

Adrien tried not to roll his eyes as he listened to Chloé ramble on about how much she disliked it when Kim, one of his knights, flirted with her. He couldn’t escape it, either. They were in a carriage, bound for the Palace of Versailles. It wasn’t all that far away, but it was further than he wanted to travel with Chloé wittering away at him.

He glanced up at the carriage ceiling, staring at the painted clouds there. If only Marinette was here instead. She could sit on his knee and they could kiss and cuddle without worrying that anyone would see them. But she wasn’t here. She was in a different carriage, probably with other servants. He wouldn’t get to see her until they arrived at Versailles, but _when_ he would get to talk to her would be a different matter entirely. Even though they were going to Versailles, they weren’t going to be staying in the palace. The tournament would be taking place in a field nearby, and as a result, they would all be staying in tents. Adrien didn’t mind: he rather liked sleeping outside. But tents didn’t offer very much security or assurance. He and Marinette would have to be extremely careful this weekend if they wanted to see each other.

‘What do you think your father has planned?’ Chloé asked.

‘What do you mean?’ the prince asked, looking at Chloé now.

‘When he announced the tournament, he said he had other things planned. It sounded… ominous.’

Adrien shrugged. His father had never been an easy man to read. It could have meant nothing. ‘I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out when the tournament starts tomorrow.’

Not long after, the carriage came to a stop and Kim opened the door. ‘We’re here, your Highness, your Ladyship.’

Chloé rolled her eyes and batted away Kim’s hand as he tried to help her out of the carriage. ‘You’re ridiculous.’

Kim just laughed. ‘You’ll change your mind about me eventually.’

She scoffed and walked away towards the rest of the carriages, and Adrien got out with a smile.

‘No offence, but I don’t think she will come around to you.’

‘You never know,’ the knight said with a wink. ‘Anyway, you might want to get back in the carriage for a bit. Your tent hasn’t been set up yet.’

Adrien shrugged. ‘I think I’d rather walk around. It was hard dealing with Chloé in a confined space for that long.’ The prince lowered his voice then. ‘Do you know which carriage Marinette is in?’

‘Four in front of yours. But she has to help set everything up. I don’t think you’ll be able to speak to her yet.’

Adrien nodded. ‘Do you think my father will kill me if I help set up, too?’

‘Doubt it. He was in the second carriage and he and Nathalie went straight into the palace when they arrived.’

Adrien frowned. That was a little odd. His dad usually slept outside with everyone else at the tournament. But it didn’t matter. This way, it meant he could help the servants and spend time with his sweetheart.

He began to amble across the field and smiled at the familiar sight. Framed by the setting sun and the impressive expanse of Versailles Palace was the tournament field. Right in the centre was the jousting strip with wooden stalls and seats set up either side of it for people to watch the event. Most princes competed in jousting, but Adrien was one of the few who didn’t, since his father deemed it to be too dangerous. Fortunately, that meant he only focussed on sword fighting, which he excelled at, and the arena for that was between the jousting strip and the temporary stables. Beyond that, there were several huts set up for blacksmiths and other merchants and traders who would try to sell their wares and skills, and then at the fringes of the field were where all of the tents were being set up.

Adrien spotted Marinette easily. She was in her maid’s uniform, and she was carefully unfolding the green and gold striped material for his tent whilst Ivan, Max, and Nathaniel put up the wooden frame around the bed that had been taken from the palace.

‘Hi,’ he said as if he was greeting everyone, but his eyes lingered longer on Marinette and she blushed.

She smiled at him, as did Max and Ivan, but Nathaniel just glared.

‘Can we help you, your Highness?’ he practically hissed.

Adrien tried his best to smile at Nathaniel. ‘Actually, I’m here to help you set up my tent, and the other ones too.’

The other three smiled.

‘Why don’t you help Marinette unfold the material?’ Max suggested, and Adrien knelt down beside her without a moment’s hesitation.

‘Hello, princess,’ he whispered as he started to unfold the massive piece of fabric with her.

Marinette’s blush darkened. ‘Hi,’ she whispered back. ‘I didn’t think I’d get to see you this weekend.’

‘We’ll work something out. I think we should be fine for today, as it’s only the staff from Élysée Palace here, but tomorrow morning, everyone else will start arriving. It’ll be harder then.’

Marinette nodded. ‘What do you want to do then? Shall I come to your tent tonight? There isn’t really anywhere else private in the middle of this field.’

‘Yes, but you’ll have to be extremely careful coming in.’ Adrien bit his lip as they continued to unfold the fabric. ‘Do you maybe… you can say no, but… do you want to spend the night with me? Not like _that_ , but just sleep and spend time together. But you’d have to be super careful leaving in the morning. Actually, forget I said anything.’

Marinette’s small hand found his through the green and gold linen. ‘I want that. I’ll be careful in the morning, I promise.’

They shared a smile and unfurled the rest of the fabric, and the other three helped them to hook it around the wooden frame before they mounted another piece so it lay on the top of the frame in a cone shape. Once the fabric had been secured in place, Marinette smiled.

‘I’ll go and fetch your bedding and clothes from the carriage.’

‘I’ll come and help you,’ Adrien said, but before he could move, someone cleared their throat, and he looked around and saw Nathalie stood behind him.

‘Let Marinette go and do it. It’s her job.’

Marinette curtsied, an embarrassed blush on her face now, and Adrien forced himself to look at Nathalie instead of at his sweetheart as she walked away.

‘Was there something you needed, Nathalie?’

‘Dinner is ready to be served in the palace.’

Adrien nodded. ‘Are you coming for it, too?’

‘I’ve already eaten. I’m going to settle in for the night,’ she said, gesturing to the tent opposite his which was red and black.

‘Alright. I’ll see you in the morning.’ He walked away then, ambling towards the palace, but he glanced behind him and easily spotted Marinette, struggling with a trunk. He should go over and help her, but Nathalie would see. She wasn’t in her tent yet. He’d have to make it up to his princess later.

…

Adrien lay on his bed, watching through the linen his tent was made out of as candle light passed by outside as people walked around the tournament grounds. Marinette should be here by now. Had she got lost in the dark? Or perhaps she had been caught? Should he go and look for her? Or would that-

The opening to his tent jostled and a moment later, Marinette darted inside. She quickly adjusted the linen so there was no gap in between the two pieces, then she turned and smiled at Adrien.

‘Hi,’ she squeaked, fiddling with her cloak. Her hair was down for once, and through the opening in her cloak Adrien could see that she was wearing a nightdress. He was in his own sleeping clothes, too, which consisted of a pair of cotton shorts and a loose shirt.

Adrien held out his hand and Marinette walked over to him, letting the cloak slip from her shoulders and fall to the floor as she made her way to the bed. When she was close enough, she slipped her hand into his and Adrien pulled his sweetheart to lie down beside him.

‘Did you get here okay?’ Adrien asked, pushing rebellious strands of Marinette’s silky hair behind her ear.

She nodded, a blush rising on her cheeks. ‘I’m pretty sure no one saw me. And I waited until Alya was asleep, so sorry that I’m late.’

‘It’s okay. You’re here now. And I’m sorry for not helping you with my clothes and bedding before. Nathalie would have seen me.’

‘It’s fine. I understand.’

They both let out a yawn then and Adrien chuckled. ‘Want to sleep?’

Marinette shook her head. ‘I only just got here. I don’t know when we’ll get to do this again.’

‘Hey, don’t think like that,’ Adrien said, cupping his princess’ face. ‘We’ll get to do this again. I want to tell my father about us soon.’

Marinette’s eyes widened. ‘Really?’

The prince smiled. ‘Really. I don’t know how much longer I can last with having to hide this how I feel about you from everyone.’ He pressed a brief kiss to her lips. ‘You’re amazing. My father won’t say no to this. I have a good feeling.’

She smiled and snuggled up against his chest. ‘Me, too. I don’t want to hide this anymore.’

Adrien hummed and wrapped his arms around Marinette. ‘Don’t I get a good night’s kiss?’

The maid in his arms giggled and leant up, and the two met in a chaste kiss before settling back down, about to sleep together for the first time.

‘Good night, Adrien.’

‘Good night, princess.’

…

Nathalie shook her head as she glanced at the tent opposite hers. She had seen Marinette disappear inside an hour ago now, and she had yet to emerge.

What were those two teenagers thinking? They couldn’t make a relationship work. Well, they probably could, but it wouldn’t last in the long term. It couldn’t. It wasn’t allowed. They both should have known better. Especially Adrien. And with the announcement that the King would make this weekend… both the prince’s and the maid’s hearts would be broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)
> 
> Hi everyone! I have a new Miraculous fic up called 'I Want You To Ruin My Life'! Just wanted to let you all know :3


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tournament commences and Adrien and Marinette receive some news.

Adrien didn’t know how long he’d been awake, but he knew it was early in the morning, and he knew that Marinette squeaked in her sleep. Her cheek was smushed against the pillow, her lips were pursed, and her eyelashes and hair moved slightly in the breeze that entered from underneath the tent. She was beautiful.

She woke up then, and once she had orientated herself, she smiled up at Adrien. ‘Good morning,’ she whispered, voice high and sweet from sleep.

‘Morning,’ Adrien replied, sweeping Marinette’s hair behind her ear. ‘Sleep well?’

‘Yeah. I wish I could always sleep in a bed as comfy as this.’

‘And with me.’

‘Of course, with you. Always with you.’ Marinette leant up and kissed Adrien. He responded back eagerly, since he was much more awake than Marinette, and she let the prince pull her into his lap as they continued to kiss. Adrien placed his hands on Marinette’s waist then, which was when she pulled out the kiss and rested her forehead against Adrien’s.

‘I have to go soon,’ she whispered.

He tightened his hold on her waist. ‘Don’t.’

Marinette gave him a sleepy smile. ‘I have to.’

‘Not yet.’

She giggled and gently caressed Adrien’s cheek. ‘We’ll do this again, right?’

‘We will. We have to. And then soon, we’ll be able to do this every night.’

Both teenagers blushed at the implications of that, but neither pulled away until they heard people talking in the tournament grounds.

‘Now I really have to go.’

Adrien helped Marinette out of the bed and wrapped the cloak around her shoulders. ‘Be careful.’

‘I will be. When will I see you again?’

Adrien bit his lip. ‘I have to come back in here after lunch to get changed for the sword fighting tournament, and by then, no one will be around this section of the field. Promise me you’ll come.’

‘I promise.’ They kissed again, and Adrien watched as his sweetheart left the tent, then he led back down on his bed with a huge smile on his face. They could be together like this every day soon.

‘Adrien.’

He sat up in bed quickly and his eyes widened when he saw Nathalie stood just inside his tent. ‘Na-Nathalie?!’

She had a solemn look on her face. ‘You know you can’t be together.’

Adrien scrambled out of bed. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘I’m not stupid, Adrien. Don’t treat me like I am. I _saw_ her. I saw Marinette. She came in here last night and left just now. How long has this been going on?’

The prince looked at the ground. ‘Since just after Marinette started working at the palace.’

‘Oh, Adrien…’

He looked back up at Nathalie. ‘ _Please_ don’t tell my father.’

Nathalie sighed. ‘It won’t matter whether I tell him or not.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

His father’s assistant schooled her features. ‘Get dressed then have some breakfast. You are expected to open the tournament and the first jousting event at nine o’clock.’

‘Nathalie-’

She turned on her heel and left the tent, and Adrien ran after her, but by the time he’d got outside, Nathalie had already gone. He couldn’t see her anywhere, but in the distance, he could see the royal Swiss, Austrian, and German carriages approaching the palace.

He darted back into his tent and got dressed, quickly finding the outfit Max had packed for him today. It was black boots, black trousers, a green cotton shirt, and a brown suede cloak that was joined in the front with a golden fastening.

Just as he finished, Max and Nathaniel entered his tent, the former holding a large wooden box, the latter with a tray laden with breakfast food.

‘Oh, you’re already up and dressed,’ Nathaniel said.

‘Yes, and I need to find Nathalie. Have you seen her?’

‘She’s in the palace with the King meeting the arriving royals.’

‘Thank you!’ He tried to dart out of the tent, but Max grabbed his wrist.

‘Wait, we need to put on your crown and you haven’t eaten anything.’

With a quiet groan, Adrien begrudgingly grabbed a croissant from off the tray and ate it as Max adjusted the golden crown on his head.

‘Are we done?’

‘Yes. We’ll be back after lunch to help you put on your armour.’

Adrien didn’t reply and left the tent, ignoring everyone as he hotfooted it towards the palace. When he arrived in the marble and gold adorned entrance, only Ivan, one of his knights, and Mylène, one of his father’s servants, were there.

‘Where’s my dad and Nathalie?’ he asked, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

‘They went upstairs with the German royal family,’ Mylène said.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. They did no business with Germany. And Lila was their princess. Why would he _want_ to talk to the German royal family?

He thanked Mylène anyway and went upstairs, wandering down the decadently decorated halls until he finally heard voices.

‘I’m sure Adrien will be happy with this arrangement.’

‘And so will my daughter.’

He heard Lila let out an annoying giggle. ‘I’ll be happy forever.’

Adrien reached the door then, and it opened. The king of Germany was stood in the frame, his wife and daughter just behind him.

‘Ah, Adrien!’

The prince bowed, remembering himself. ‘Good morning, your Majesty.’

‘You’ve met my lovely daughter, Lila, haven’t you?’

Adrien nodded, trying not to grimace. The German royal family had been attending this tournament for the last three years, and every time, he’d been forced to spend time with Lila. And he’d hated every moment of it.

‘Why don’t you walk her over to the jousting?’

‘Oh, actually, I just need to speak with Nathalie-’

‘Adrien,’ his father said, coming into the frame now, his face just as stern as always. ‘Take Lila.’

The blond bowed is head. ‘Yes, father.’

Lila hummed and she followed Adrien down the halls and out of the palace, but as soon as they were on the grass, Adrien clasped his hands behind his back underneath his cloak so Lila wouldn’t get any ideas: she tried many times before.

‘How have you been, Adrien?’ she asked, feigning kindness. He knew what she was really like.

‘Fine. Yourself?’

‘Amazing. Especially this past week.’

‘Oh. How come?’

She flashed him a massive smile. ‘You’ll find out soon.’

‘… okay.’ He shook his head and they continued onto where the jousting was to take place. For the section of field that had been selected, there was a wooden barrier running down the middle, and the horses and their rider would joust either side of it. Parallel to the left of it was a large seating structure, reserved for royalty and nobles that had Gabriel and Adrien’s thrones on along with more decadent seating. Directly opposite on the other side of the central barrier was another seating area, this one made up of cheap wooden chairs and hay bales. It was for the servants and townsfolk to watch.

Adrien took his place on his throne, and Lila sat only a few seats away from him on a long chaise that had been reserved for the German royal family. However, she kept staring at him.

He ignored her and looked over at the non-royal seating area to distract himself. He could see Nino sat with Alya on a hay bale, and they were motioning for someone to come and join them. Adrien followed their line of vision and couldn’t help but smile when he saw Marinette bouncing over to then, in her uniform now and not her nightdress. Maybe next year, she would be able to sit up here with him.

She looked over at him then and they shared a shy smile with each other. Soon. They would be together again soon.

Silence fell over the area and everyone rose, including Adrien, as Gabriel entered the temporary stands. He went to his throne, but he didn’t sit down straight away. Instead, he cleared his throat.

‘Thank you for attending this weekend’s tournament. As you all know, it is tradition for the French royal family to host this. It also tradition to announce significant life events here. News of my own engagement to Queen Emilie was announced here, as was the birth of my son, Adrien, and it is today that I have some news to announce about him.’

Adrien looked at his father in confusion. What could he possibly be talking about? Was his father sending him away to train more in sword fighting? That would make sense. And it wouldn’t matter much to Adrien. If he was sent away, then all of his servants would go with him, including Marinette. That would be perfect.

‘Today, I have the pleasure of announcing his engagement. As of today, his fiancée is Princess Lila Rossi of Germany.’

Lila stepped forwards then, a smug smile on her face, and the crowd cheered, but Adrien felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. _No._ This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. He wouldn’t marry _her._ He’d only ever fallen in love with one other person in his entire life and that was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and it was her he wanted to be with forever.

With the applause still thundering around him, he looked to the hay bale Marinette, Alya and Nino had been sat on. Nino was the only one left and he shrugged, not knowing where they had gone. As soon as he was able to, he would go and find his love. If he needed comforting, then Adrien was more than certain Marinette did, too.

…

Marinette had cried for about an hour non-stop after the announcement, but she had finished now. She didn’t feel like she could cry ever again. But every time she thought about it… she shook her head. It made fresh tears spring up in her eyes just thinking about Adrien being with someone else. It didn’t matter who it was. If it wasn’t her, then she couldn’t bear it.

‘Come on, girl,’ Alya whispered from the quiet spot they’d found behind a tent. ‘You promised you’d meet Adrien in his tent before the sword fighting starts. And I’m sure he’s just as upset as you. He looked so confused when his father announced it. He had no idea.’

Marinette nodded and let Alya help her up and lead her to Adrien’s tent. She knew he hadn’t known. He would have told her if he had. Adrien wouldn’t lie to her.

Alya sat her down on Adrien’s bed and Marinette let her hands glide over the smooth sheets. This is where she’d slept last night with the man she loved. And she would probably never get to do it again.

The linen at the tent’s entrance was pulled aside then, and in came Adrien and Nino.

‘Marinette…’ the prince said, then he rushed towards her and gathered her in his arms. ‘Can you two leave us alone please?’

‘Of course,’ Alya whispered, and when the linen had stopped moving, Adrien pulled back to look at Marinette. Her face was red and blotchy from crying and she looked absolutely devastated. God, why did they have to find out like this?

‘Look at me, princess.’

She did as he asked and she saw her own sadness reflected in him. ‘It was nice while we were together, wasn’t it?’

Adrien frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘We have to end this. We can’t stay together. We were stupid to ever think that this could work.’ Marinette got up and began to leave, but Adrien pulled her back to him.

‘No. You are not doing this. We are staying together.’

‘We _can’t_ be together, though. What’s the use in trying when in a few months, you’ll be married?’

Adrien shut his eyes at the thought of that. He couldn’t possibly go through with marrying anyone but Marinette. And especially not Lila. ‘We have to be together. You’re the one I want to be with, no one else.’

‘But how can we be?’ Marinette whispered, fresh tears falling down her face.

‘I-I don’t know. But we’ll figure something out. I know we will. I’m not letting you go without a fight. But for now… can I just hold you? I’m so afraid to lose you…’ Adrien whispered, his own tears falling now. It had been so hard to hold it in all morning as he was forced to watch the jousting when all he had wanted to do was run to Marinette.

She nodded and they led on the bed together, holding each other close, crying soundlessly into each other’s shoulders. They both knew that there was nothing to be done. The King wouldn’t be so easily defied. And Nathalie had tried to warn Adrien, too. But he’d been too stupid to realise what she’d meant. But they had to try. They couldn’t not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is a little reckless.

Adrien had never fought so much in his life. Not because his opponents were hard to defeat. It was because he was angry. Angry at his father for doing this to him. Angry that he would be marrying Lila. Angry that there was nothing he could do about it. Angry that Marinette had been hurt. And angry that he couldn’t be with her.

The sword of the Swedish prince dug into his side and Adrien hissed and moved out of the way. Instead of dodging away completely, though, Adrien parried forwards, and at the same time, he hooked his foot behind the Swedish prince’s knee and pulled.

His opponent lost his balance and dropped his sword, then Adrien held his own blade to the other prince’s neck. ‘Yield,’ he hissed. He usually smiled when he said that. After all, the goal of the sword fighting Adrien did wasn’t to kill his opponent. But he wasn’t in the mood today.

‘I yield,’ the Swedish prince said, and the crowd cheered, but Adrien didn’t take any notice. He stalked off, out of the circular arena and towards the medical tent, trying not to grimace. The wound in his side wasn’t deep, but it still hurt.

He entered the tent, which was void of doctors and patients and anyone and he sat down on a wooden table with a pained groan. This was _not_ good.

The linen at the tent’s entrance parted then a breathless Marinette ran in. ‘Adrien.’

He looked up at her, shocked. ‘Marinette, what are you doing here?’

She ran to where he was sat. ‘I was watching. I saw you get hurt.’

‘You were watching?!’ He sighed and hung his head. ‘I didn’t think you’d be there. I’m not usually violent and angry like that. I didn’t want you to see me like that.’

‘It’s okay. I know you’re not like that,’ she said, stepping forwards between his legs.

‘I don’t want you to think I’d ever hurt you like that,’ he whispered, caressing her face carefully with his leather gloved hand.

She closed her eyes and held his hand to her face, keeping it there. ‘I know you never would,’ she whispered back. They stayed stood like that for a moment before Marinette removed Adrien’s hand from her cheek. ‘Let me see your injury.’

He nodded and sat still as Marinette unbuckled his breast plate. The next layer was his green and gold tunic, which she gently lifted over his head, followed by his chainmail. The final layer was his undershirt, which was white, and she gasped when she saw the blood leaking through it. ‘Oh, Adrien…’

‘It’s not that bad. The chainmail blocked the sword for the most part.’

‘You still got hurt, though,’ she said as she lifted his shirt over his head. Adrien’s chest was drenched in sweat: this had been his tenth fight of the afternoon, and on his side was the cut. It wasn’t that deep, but it was bleeding quite a bit, probably from the chainmail rubbing against it.

Marinette took some cotton gauze from the table Adrien was sat on and pressed it against the wound and the prince hissed.

She smiled. ‘You’ll live.’

He narrowed his eyes. ‘It does hurt, you know.’

‘I’m aware. Just try not to be so reckless next time. I don’t want you getting hurt even more.’

Adrien nodded. ‘I’ll be careful. I’m just still so angry about my father. It’s you I want to be with. Why couldn’t he have waited a few more months? Then we could have told him.’

Marinette kissed him on the cheek. ‘Do you think we still can tell him?’

‘I don’t know. But we have to, somehow. I refuse to marry Lila.’

Marinette cleaned the blood from the wound, then once she had wiped away the sweat from Adrien’s chest, she placed another bit of gauze against the open wound then wrapped a bandage around his midriff to hold it in place.

‘Thank you,’ Adrien said, smiling fondly at Marinette. ‘I know this isn’t your job.’

She returned his smile. ‘I’m your girlfriend. It _is_ my job. Besides, you take the rest of my maid duties away from me. This is the least I can do.’ She grabbed his shirt and put it back on him. Once it was back on, though, she fiddled with the hem.

‘What’s wrong?’ Adrien asked.

‘I just… I don’t want you to get hurt because you’re angry.’

The prince sighed and wrapped his arms and Marinette’s waist, bringing her flush against his body. ‘It’s okay. I’m calm now that I’ve spoken to you. And happy. I’m always happy when I’m with you. You’re like my lucky charm.’

The maid giggled. ‘I can’t always be with you to be your lucky charm, though.’

‘I wish you could be.’

Marinette bit her lip and searched for something in her apron’s pocket. ‘I want you to have this,’ she said, bringing out a length of red wool, and threaded along the string was a large green wooden bead and smaller pink ones were beside it. ‘My mum made it for me when I was little. She and dad worked long hours in their bakery and I would get lonely, so she made me this. The red thread is from a scarf of hers, so this way, I would never be without her. If you always have this on you, we’ll always be together, and it’ll hopefully bring you luck, too.’

‘Marinette… I can’t take this from you.’

‘You can and you will.’ She wrapped it around Adrien’s left wrist and tied it securely. ‘There.’

‘Thank you, princess.’ He kissed her then, but Marinette pulled away quickly with a gasp.

‘We’re in public, Adrien. Someone could walk in here at any moment.’

He placed his hands back on her waist and squeezed it slightly. ‘I don’t care. I just want to be with you. Let everyone see.’ He kissed her again, pulling her even closer to him. ‘I never want to be without you,’ he whispered against her lips when he pulled away a little, then he was kissing her again. Part of him wanted someone to walk in and see them like this. If they did, then someone would tell his father, and then hopefully the King of Germany would decide to call off the engagement: his precious daughter couldn’t marry someone who had marred himself with a maid, after all.

When Marinette pulled away to take in some air, Adrien cupped her cheek, letting his thumb graze across her bottom lip. ‘You’re prettier after I’ve kissed you. Your lips always get swollen.’

She blushed. ‘Adrien!’

He laughed and the maid shook her head. ‘Do you want to put your armour back on?’

‘No. I’ve finished fighting for the day. Can you carry my breast plate and tunic back to my tent? I’ll carry my chain mail.’

Marinette nodded but just as she grabbed what he had asked, the tent opened, revealing Princess Lila.

The maid curtsied. ‘Good afternoon, your Highness. It’s nice to meet you.’

The German princess glared at her. ‘What were you doing alone with my fiancé?’

‘I errrr…’

‘Lila, leave her alone,’ Adrien said as he slid off the table. ‘She’s my maid. She’s well within her right to be in here.’

Lila huffed and walked past Marinette, barging her in the shoulder as she walked over to Adrien. ‘I heard you got hurt,’ she said with a smile. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ he said, glancing at Marinette who was attempting not to drop the heavy breast plate. ‘Lila, you know how I feel about you. You’ve probably already guessed that I don’t want to marry you, but I’ll be civil to you. But the moment you start disrespecting my staff is when I’ll start disrespecting you. Understand?’

Lila just smiled. ‘That maid will soon be a part of my staff and I’ll treat her however I wish.’

Adrien rolled his eyes. ‘Fine, have it your way.’ He walked away from her and took the breast plate from Marinette, having no problem carrying it along with the heavy chain mail.

‘You okay?’ he asked.

‘Y-yes, your Highness,’ she said, and he smiled.

‘Let’s go then.’

The two of them left the medical tent together and Marinette looked up at her prince. ‘Are you sure you should have done that?’

‘Honestly, as much as I dislike being rude to people, if I’m just as cruel to her as she is to everyone else, maybe she’ll ask her father to break off our engagement. It might not work, but it’s worth a shot.’

Marinette nodded. ‘Okay, as long as you’re sure.’

‘I am. It’s you who I want to be with. I’ll do anything to make that happen.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and say hi!
> 
> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.lilacchocolate.tumblr.com)


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